Comparing Prices On Must-haves At Wall Grocery Stores

We’re all trying to save a buck, right? Those family budgets don’t stretch as far as they used to, so Wall Patch has decided to try to do something that’ll help elasticize that paycheck a little.

Each week, we’ll bring you the best local deals we can find on the goods that families need and the services we all have little choice in purchasing. With luck, this column will also help you save a little time, since we’ll do the searching for you.

You’re input will be a big part in shaping the future of this column.  If you know of a deal we missed or are looking for a deal on a particular item or service, let us know. Add questions or comments to our comment box, or you can always call us at (732) 556-8562.

To kick off the column, we’ve sent our intrepid Consumer Reporter Matthew Warren out to Wall Township grocery stores to scout the best prices (as of Tuesday, February 15, 2011) on items no kitchen can live without: Milk, eggs, bread, butter and bananas.

Some ground rules, to make it a fair fight:

 1.)  Milk: Whole, gallon, store brand if applicable

2.)  Butter: 4-stick package, salted and store brand

3.)  Eggs: Grade A large, dozen

4.)  Bread: Whole wheat, loaf, sliced, store brand

5.)  Bananas: price per pound

With that, we traveled to both Foodtown locations (Route 35 & 18th; and Route 35 & Sea Girt Ave.), both ShopRite locations (Routes 34 and 35) and A&P (Route 35).

Overall, ShopRite (either location) was our winner at $12.65 for our list of kitchen essentials, assuming, for our purposes, you only wanted 1 pound of bananas. Here's how it broke down:

Milk: The Foodtown locations and A&P tied for the best price at $3.99.

Butter:  ShopRite (both locations) was the clear winner at $3.49, saving nearly 50-cents off competitors’ prices.

Eggs: ShopRite (both locations) and A&P share the podium at $2.39, saving nearly 50-cents off Foodtown’s $2.89 price.

Bread: ShopRite (both locations) pulls ahead by 20-cents with $1.99.

Bananas: ShopRite again wins with per pound rate of 69 cents, a full 20 cents less than Foodtown (both locations) and A & P at 79 cents.

Here’s the raw data from this week’s price challenge. Prices are as of Tuesday, February 15, 2011:

Foodtown (1732 Route 35 at 18th and 2176 Route 35 at Sea Girt Ave.)

Milk: (Farmland Brand) $3.99

Bread: $2.19

Eggs: $2.89

Butter: $3.99

Bananas: .89/lb.

Total: $13.95

Shop Rite (1801 Route 35 and 2445 Route 34)

Whole Milk: $4.09

Bread: $1.99

Eggs: $2.39

Butter: $3.49

Bananas: .69/lb.

Total: $12.65

A&P (2007 Route 35)

Milk: $3.99

Bread: $2.19

Eggs: $2.39

Butter: $3.99

Bananas: .79/lb.

Total: $13.35