When I moved from Chicagoland to Southern Arizona in 2014, I was shocked to see how much higher food prices were in this market. Now, nearly ALL of the prices I pay seem to be a lot lower than the prices that are posted on this board.
Are inflation prices higher in Chicago than here? Probably NOT. Are more groceries produced down here than before? Probably NOT.
I would attribute it to learning how to shop the local supermarkets and learning where to shop week to week. For produce, I rely on the produce salvage where you can get 70# of produce for $15. I give away about 50# every few weeks. In return, my neighbors have started to retaliate by giving me bags full of groceries. Seriously. And all the skim milk that I can drink (or mix with half and half).
For meat, I will only buy it when it is on sale. The only exception is that I buy a lot from Asian markets in Phoenix on my 6-8 trips per year.
Ditto for groceries. My large dry goods purchase stock up is at Winco Foods, Aldi, and a salvage store in Phoenix. Between trips, I buy at Krogers at the higher price.
I have found that keeping a price book in my car reminds me what I paid the last time I purchased a given place.
Today was the first time I have been in a supermarket in more than a week as I am fully stocked in my pantry and freezer. I wanted to pick up eggs as they had some free-range eggs at Safeway for $2.
The advantage that you have in the Chicago area is the number of stores of different sizes. Here, my options locally are fairly limited. On the other hand, the operating costs in this area are much lower and SOMETIMES that is reflected is some of the prices.
One other thing. Since the average family income is far less here than in the Chicago area, the stores have to be much more competitive. I have seen a lot of people in this area walk up to the neat section, take a look and then walk out. People are VERY price sensitive in this area. And the merchants that don't make all of their decisions in Boise or Cincinnati know that.
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The FLIPP app allows you to have access to all grocery ads that are printed in your region. This will allow you to see what the best prices are prior to leaving your driveway.