The Exponent compares local grocers — so you don't have to

With the recent opening of Whole Foods in Bozeman, there has been a lot of discourse around shopping locally and how expensive and/or sinister Whole Foods supposedly is. While it is a nice thought to only shop at stores that directly enrich the community, stock local products, and are operated locally, the reality of the situation is that some Bozemanites must think about cost first.

As Bozeman grows, prices around town are rising, and it can be difficult to decide where to shop in order to be most cost effective.

For the benefit of all, I have dug up my rusty AP Statistics knowledge to take a semi-representative sample of the price of groceries around town. To do this I have chosen a fairly standard recipe, classic chili courtesy of thewholesomedish.com, and tabulated the lowest cost for each ingredient in the recipe from four Grocery Stores. Whole Foods and the Co-op represent a national and local health-food type store whereas Safeway and Town & Country represent national and local standard grocer.

Co-op

• Olive oil $9.99
• 1 yellow onion $1.99/lb
• 1 pound 90% lean ground beef $5.99
• Chili powder $4.43
• Ground cumin $4.49
• Sugar $3.49 (2lb bag)
• Tomato paste $1.09
• Garlic powder $4.49
• Salt $1.99
• Ground black pepper $2.85
• Cayenne pepper $4.49
• Beef broth $4.99
• 1 (15 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes $1.99
• 1 (16 oz.) can red kidney beans $1.49
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce $2.78
• Shredded Cheese $4.69
• Sour cream $4.23
• TOTAL: $59.92

Safeway

• Olive oil $6.49
• 1 medium yellow onion $0.69/lb
• 1 pound 90% lean ground beef $6.99
• Chili powder $4.79
• Ground cumin $2.89
• Sugar $4.29 (4lb bag)
• Tomato paste $1.29
• Garlic powder $3.29
• Salt $1.19
• Ground black pepper $4.19
• Cayenne pepper $3.29
• Beef broth $2.99
• 1 (15 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes $1.79
• 1 (16 oz.) can red kidney beans $1.99
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce $1.59
• Shredded cheese $1.99
• Sour cream $1.59
• TOTAL: $50.82

Town & Country

• Olive oil $5.39
• 1 medium yellow onion $0.59/lb
• 1 pound 90% lean ground beef $5.29
• Chili powder $2.75
• Ground cumin $1.85
• Sugar $2.79 (4lb bag)
• Tomato paste $0.99
• Garlic powder $2.25
• Salt $0.95
• Ground black pepper $1.39
• Cayenne pepper $1.70
• Beef broth $1.99
• 1 (15 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes $0.79
• 1 (16 oz.) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed $0.99
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce $0.69
• Shredded cheese $2.49
• Sour cream $0.99
• TOTAL: $33.45
• Whole Foods
• Olive oil $8.99
• 1 medium yellow onion $1.89/lb
• 1 pound 90% lean ground beef $8.99
• Chili powder $2.99
• Ground cumin $3.99
• Sugar $7.29 (4lb bag)
• Tomato paste $1.19
• Garlic powder $3.19
• Salt $1.99
• Ground black pepper $4.49
• Cayenne pepper $4.69
• Beef broth $3.19
• 1 (15 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes $1.69
• 1 (16 oz.) can red kidney beans $0.99
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce $1.59
• Shredded cheese $4.29
• Sour cream $1.99
• TOTAL: $62.05

My findings here aren’t exactly surprising. Whole Foods and the Co-op are similar in price. Whole Foods has a far larger selection and variety of products, but the Co-op offers far more locally sourced products. Safeway is a close third, coming in about $10 less than the health food stores. To me, there isn’t much benefit to shopping at Safeway in order to explain the price, especially seeing Town & Country’s total — a whopping $17 less than Safeway. Safeway and Town & Country have similar selections, but if you’re shopping for price Town & Country is absolutely the way to go.

Ultimately, where you shop for groceries comes down to personal preference. If you’re looking for organic foods, the Co-op and Whole Foods have a negligible price difference, with the Co-op coming out a little lower, and Town & Country comes out lowest overall. Shop smart Bobcats.