The Grocery Store Game

If you read my earlier article, one of the key items that makes my experiment unique is the fact that each week we will be using a different grocery outlet.  This will allow us to help build a road map about surviving in any urban environment.

So to make this a little more interesting I tossed my 14 grocery stores into a random number generator and here is this order in which I will visit each store.  I already have started "scouting" some of these locations to help formulate where each formats strengths are:

Cub Foods:  Most people from Minnesota should be familiar with Cub Foods.  My first stops strategy will be about filling up the pantry with items that will last a long time like Oatmeal and Flour.  I'm hoping I can get a good coupon week were several of my items are discounted by coupon books.

Whole Foods:  I am in the firm belief that Whole foods has spent A LOT of time and effort getting our from under the "Whole Paycheck" mentality.  I want to be able to show that even lower income people can work in the wondrous healthy food that is available here.

Wal-Mart:  My scouting mission of Wal-Mart makes me think I will be eating like a king this week.  One thing that Wal-Mart does is they make smaller packaging available.  I might pay more per ounce, but if I am trying to squeeze flour or sugar into my budget those smaller sizes might be the way to go!

Costco:  I have spent a lot of time trying to think my Costco strategy out.  I can get lentils and rice for the rest of the project in one shot.  Or I can get a couple of weeks of good protein.  I don't forsee me getting more then 5 items in my trip to Costco, but those items will help ease my budget for weeks to come.

Target:  After a week of Costco, I will probably need to stock up on items like pasta, eggs, and other items.  Target is the perfect place to pick up a little bit of everything.

Trader Joes:  Trader Joe's could be my greatest challenge.  They use smaller packaging, which means items I buy this week won't last long in my pantry.  They are more snack oriented, and produce, meat and dairy are a little more expensive here.  Still this stop will add some much needed change to the items already in my pantry.

Aldi:  Aldi is another stop like Wal-Mart that will help me get a lot of variety at a great price.  I will probably stock up on pasta sauce, canned goods, and even some fresh chicken.

Hy-Vee:  Hy-vee is one of the two new kids on the block.  I am pretty familiar with Hy-Vee through my work travels.  They havea  great pricing structure, and a GREAT private label program.  Like Cub I will hopefully be lucky and capture a few sale items as well.

Festival Foods:  Many of you might not be aware that Festival's are scattered throughout the out skirts of the Twin Cities.  I'm not sure about their pricing structure yet, but I find the product selection to be similar to other more traditional grocery formats.

Fresh Thyme:  The other new kid on the block, Fresh Thyme opened it's first store last fall in Bloomington.  This store format is like a cross between Aldi's and Whole Foods.  They specialize in locally made products.  My strategy here will be focused on fresh product, and dry bulk goods.

Lunds/Byerlys:  By the time I get here, I hope to have a good pantry built up from previous weeks.  I should only need to shore up some dry good stables.

Rainbow:  Yes, there are a few Rainbows still in operations, although they are operated by Supervalu (Cub Foods) affiliates.  I will be using a similar strategy to Cub for this one.

Kowalski:  Probably the most affluent store on this list, this week will equal a challenge.  Still, on the right days there are some great deals to be had on local produce, and even some great meat and dry good sales.  I will need to be a little careful though, Kowalski has a smaller footprint store, which means less selection.  It looks like this lead to a lot of "bulky" selections are left off the shelf.

Co-Op: Much like the Whole Food stop I want to show that anyone can get access to adding healthy, local, and organics to their diet.  I will be focusing my last $30 to doing just that.

So that's my Grocery Store strategy in a nut shell.  As with anything, we will see if the high level plan holds up as each week ticks by!

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