Yikes!!!! They're obviously catering to the winter/Christmas/tourists already.

We only shop Food Basics, FreshCo and No Frills. I'm not paying twice the price for a head of cauliflower at Zehrs when I can buy it a few blocks down the road for 1/2 at Food Basics.

I get so miffed at people who complain about the cost of groceries and they're laden with Zehrs bags when they can buy cheaper elsewhere.

We shop the same,Jas in Bancroft-No frills there only for bargain groceries....Foodland is the only other choice in Bancroft.

There is an M&M shop and the drugstores that carry a few food items.....we have to watch the flyers for those that have specials.

Haliburton is where we were today...pretty scary-the items that I listed are just a few things that I noticed.

And no-that is not to cater to the winter tourists...that is the way stuff is priced here year round....and the week before May 2-4 up here,everything goes up from 10 cents to one $$...always has.

Unbelievable......

The prices that were quoted are double what I pay !

I don't do the grocery shopping, but I do know there must be a big profit margin on the Pot of Gold. I just bought some on a black Friday special at my local drug store, buy one and get 2 free. Normally $9.99. Unless it was a lost leader. If so the only things I did buy was the lost leaders. They didn't make any money on me.

Yikes-crazy prices. Don’t you have Walmart’s??

I usually do my grocery shopping at Aldi's or Walmart. Our main grocery store, Dillons, has been having some good coupons that I have been using. Today I met a gf there and we each bought 5 boxes of butter. I kept two and gave the rest to her since she bakes a lot of sugar cookies over the holiday. They were $1.99 with a limit of 5. I have Super Walmart, Dillons, Aldi's, Super Target, and Walmart Market all within 2 miles of my house. Yesterday I ran in to Dillons and bought 5 bags of shredded cheese for .99 each. Every Friday they have a Free Friday Download and it will stay on your card for 2 weeks. Recently I've gotten a 2 liter of soda, Mentos mints, and an Uncle Bens rice bag, all for free. Dillons is part of the Kroger company.

I shop at Aldi first every week. Anything that I cannot get there I get at Walmart. Kroger and Tom Thumb are near by but just too expensive.

I haven’t been in our Kroger store in years and I only go to Meijer (or Walmart) as the last resort. I get all of our food and staples from a variety of farmer markets or Costco. We have a huge walk in pantry and a large freezer so storage is never an issue.

When a small family owned market can sell many of their groceries and FRESH produce for less than a national grocery chain, then you know the grocery chain is making huge profits at the consumers expense. And the quality of the meat and produce at our little markets are sooo much better. We have some amazing locally owned businesses here and I’d much rather drive a little farther out or pay a little more to help support them.

I shopped today and was appalled at the prices..almost 4$ for two peppers, almost 5$ for three large navel oranges..the only reasonably priced fruit is bananas. I too live in Ontario Canada and we don't have a Walmart, Freshco, or Food Basics here in town. We do have Giant Tiger and we shop there as well as Metro and Independent. Crazy prices.

Your oranges Jak reminded me that we bought 3 oranges last week on sale. I didn't want to buy more in case they weren't any good. We paid over $3 for them. They were really good, but I'm not willing to pay that price. The little crates of clementines etc are out now, and I'm hesitant to buy them. Often they're sour.

Bananas are consistent at all the stores at .57/lb.

Our Walmart prices are stupid, and the produce looks terrible all the time. I never ever shop food at Walmart.

Jak, what area do you live that you have a Metro (expensive!) and no FB or FreshCo?? Especially when FB is owned by Metro.

My local Vons is very expensive. $5.99 for a pound of butter, $2.50 for a single cucumber. I try to shop at Trader Joe's mostly and go to other stores, like Whole Foods, to supplement items I can't find there. I've been trying Amazon Fresh and I've been pleased with their prices and quality.

WOW, Sounds like you are really being over charged. Our cauliflower was $4.99 week before Thanksgiving up from $1.99 week before. Yesterday $2.39, same heads that were there on Wednesday. It is interesting if you watch close.

I have asked to have some of the stuff being taken out to the dumpster for grand daughters pet pig. No way, not allowed to do that.

lisaFla-There is a Walmart,which we do frequent, but its' an hour & 1/2 away.

I am rural-one little town is about 20 minutes away-that is the one with the exorbitant prices.

The other little town,is about 35 min. away,and has the Foodland(expensive) and the No Frills..always more reasonable.....these stores will price match.The stores in the closer town do not price match.

Jak-the oranges,cucumbers & tomatoes here are already thru the roof.

Belleville,a small city,is a 2.5 hour drive for us-that is usually only taken for a medical trip-they have numerous stores,all varying from expensive to reasonable.

Peterborough,is only an hour and a bit...lots of stores there as well.

I coupon,which tends to help out-not extreme by any means,but between couponing and price matching,we can usually save at the very least, the cost of fuel,which is now up to $1.20/liter(approx.4.50/gal).

Prices are going up. The closest Aldi or bigger grocery is 25 miles at least from us so we try to go at least once a week. There are groceries closer, but they are very expensive, unless you just buy the specials. Eggs were down to $.39 a doz. now they are $.98. Milk was $.98 and now is around $1.23 a gallon. I try to buy extra when things are on special.

Sue in Central Indiana

I think grocery prices are very much regionally related. And we are also getting input from both Canadian and US members, which will be quite different as well.

I live on the west coast and for whatever reason, grocery prices tend to be higher here than elsewhere (cost of living higher overall). Which makes no sense since much of the produce is local or from California so shipping costs should be low. Larger regional or national chains generally will have lower prices than smaller, more locally focused outlets simply because they purchase from suppliers/vendors in bulk and for a better price, which they can pass on to their customers.

I tend to be somewhat diverse in my grocery shopping habits and routinely frequent 3 different stores. I like Walmart for household products and staples - they always offer a lower price on these items - but I only shop there every month or two to stock up. Regular weekly food shopping is between Safeway and a local high-end chain that offers a slightly different and more upscale product line, an excellent bulk foods selection and the highest quality meats and produce. They also cater to the single shopper by offering smaller sized packaging and a wonderful and very extensive deli department.

And I hit Trader Joe's whenever I am in the area but the closest is a good 45 minute drive away.

I am surprised by the prices Marilyn Sue pays for eggs and milk and others for butter. Eggs here average around $2 a dozen and up to $6 a dozen for organic, fresh eggs. Milk is never below $2 a gallon or butter less than $3 a pound, And very hard to find at that price!!

And everything is going up!! My monthly grocery bill is double what it was just a few years ago.

How much will we pay after "The Wall" is up, and there is no cheap labor to plant, cultivate, harvest, pack, transport, unload and stock a grocer's shelves?

We shop Costco about every six weeks; a major chain (Jewel) two or three times a month for basics; an up-market (Fresh Market) near the chain for a few items, like their Tuesday "Three Buck Chuck and Chicken Breasts". I skip the meat department at Jewel. I skip the poison food aisles (chips and sugar-water). I skip the deli.

We have no Aldi, Walmart, etc. nearby. There are others, like Heinen's and Mariano's, where I often see people buying for only immediate needs -- and more male shoppers. These stores also have HUGE beer, wine, spirit, and coffee departments. They have more 'prepared meals', too.

I have no need for a pantry or a freezer. We are two adults, with many grocery choices 5 - 20 minutes away.

I live in Chicago, Illinois; both entities impose high sales taxes I am thinking these days of doing more shopping at Aldi because I can Uber it over there. The prices at the Jewel/Osco are getting ridiculous. I can easily spend 100.00 for a shopping trip and I am one person, and I do look or sales and use coupons.

I forgot to add that usually two of my daughters, take me when we shop and so we are shopping for 3 families at a time. That helps save in the long run. I only go into Aldi but they will go into other stores to shop and if I want something from there they will get it for me. We all have freezers.

Sue

The OP's prices are Canadian I would assume. I'm not going to do the math to to try to compare them. I consider myself lucky to have all kinds of food and price choices. That's one of the benefits of living in a major city. We have ALDI, HEB, Kroger, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Sprouts, and ethnic and other grocery stores. I usually do the free Friday download with Kroger. I use that opportunity to look at the digital coupons and add them to my card. Dh uses the fuel points to buy gas.

A container of strawberries was over $5 the other day so I passed. Lowest price for butter I found this week was $2.97 at Costco. I never buy shredded cheese because it is much cheaper for me to grate myself but if you have trouble using your hands it useful but I have never seen it for under $6 a package unless you are buying an off brand.

We have a Walmart, Sav-a-lot, IGA, And Dollar General in our area sells a lot of grocery items. I always go to Walmart. A gallon of milk at Walmart is $1.85, at the Dollar General or Sav-a -lot it is $3.49 a gallon. Kraft, 8 oz shredded cheese, any kind is always $2.58 at Walmart, 18 count eggs $1.68. Then you can enter your receipt to their savings catcher and they give you the difference if something you buy is higher than that of a competitor. I had $57.97 on my savings catcher (this was over a few months time) I bought Thanksgiving dinner for my whole family with this money I had saved over the last few months. This is Kentucky. I know our cost of living is lower than most places, but still.

This shows one of the sad parts of retail. If people WOULD buy local and support their local businesses it would help them out so they could lower their prices a bit. And it would provide jobs in the community, tax base to the community and more. But most people are money-motivated and if they can save a few dollars they'll abandon the local businesses. Once the mom & pop stores dry up, it's ripe for the mega marts to move in and then people will cry that mega mart drove out the local businesses. The other disadvantage the small stores have is the cost of wholesale to them. Most small stores wish they could buy their wholesale stock at the retail prices many see. But they can't. It's a common misconception that all retailers pay the same or nearly the same for goods. Not true at all. Then couple in the shipping, labor and overhead ratios that are higher for the small stores and they're at a huge disadvantage. People need to decide whether they want to kiss the small stores goodbye for good or not. Most have. And then you'll see what you get.

I'm at the point I don't look at the prices too closely though I compare them, get the best value and move on. I need the stuff so why lose sleep over the cost? And if it's something I want, I'll treat myself right occasionally. What I buy has changed over the years. Much change during the doctor/hospitalization stretch naturally but now I've noticed I've still changed some things. Some for the better, some, not so much.

In the KC area, the stores within a mile of me are Target, Walmart, Aldi, and a midwest chain, Hy Vee. HyVee is the most expensive, with butter at $3.99 regular price, and on sale $1.99 limit one. Target is the next expensive, then Walmart and Aldi. I agree that Walmart produce is awful looking. I buy what I can at Aldi, then get a few sale things at HyVee, or Walmart. I am beginning to wonder how HyVee stays in business with such high prices, but I know why people go there. Never any line over 2-3 carts long. They use lots of cashiers, and it is pristine clean. But bakery there is expensive! $5.99 for a dozen boxed cookies, that aren't tasty at all!

How well the smaller or mom-and-pop places can compete against the chain stores is very dependent on their marketing strategies. And the amount of capital they have to pull that off :-))

The local upscale chain I referred to in my previous post is just such an entity. It consists of only 4 stores scattered over a rather wide geographical area but centered in locations that can draw from a pretty wide and diverse population. It's prices are always higher than the national chains - Kroegers, Safeway/Albertson's, etc. - but it remains very popular and heavily frequented and gives the chains a serious run for their money!! The reason is, it offers a better and broader selection of goods, focusing on organic, locally sourced meats and produce, an excellent hot and cold deli, soup and salad bar and an actual butcher and fish market. Prepackaged meats and fish are also available but it is great to have the option of selecting or ordering directly from the counter. It also has a huge bulk foods, spices and coffee area. And there is an entire section of the store dedicated to ethnic foods - Asian, Indian, Mexican, British, etc. - with goods imported from those countries. It just takes everything up several notches!!

btw, although these are under an individual ownership, they are not small, corner markets by any stretch. All except for the original location are massive stores, maybe twice the size of the standard Safeway. And always very busy - big parking lots are consistently full. But there are no self-check facilities and never any lines at the checkout counters - their staffing levels must be very high, as you can always find someone to ask questions of in every department.

They don't sell toys or balloons or seasonal items like swim floaties or beach towels or sports team clothing and paraphenalia or rent DVD's. They focus on quality food, fresh flowers, a select assortment of gourmet cooking accessories and cookbooks and incredible customer service. And they do a land office business!!