Tell us: Where do you shop? What’s the most important factor in your Raleigh grocer?

The News & Observer’s service journalism team spent the past few weeks running around Raleigh’s grocery stores, price checking common items to teach our readers which stores offer shoppers the best value.

We also learned lots about natural/organic stores and grocers that value partnerships with local farmers, understanding that price isn’t the ultimate factor for many shoppers in our region. With 16 stores in the area, we have something for everyone.

So we want to hear from you:

• What’s on your standard weekly list? Where do you shop?
• What do you value in a grocery store? How does your preferred store give you what you need?
• Are you looking for a change? Did our reporting help you learn about other stores you might start visiting?

Email ask@newsobserver.com to let us know.

What matters most in a grocery store?

Our 40-item list (split in half between name-brand and store-brand offerings) was based off of our own regular grocery lists, featuring the staples we keep stocked in our fridges, pantries and fruit bowls.

Personally, I care most about price and distance. That makes Walmart my go-to grocery store, even though I also have Harris Teeter, Lowes Foods, Lidl and Food Lion closeby.

I don’t buy much weekly, as I rely on our area’s wholesale clubs for most of my pantry shopping and am an avid gardener, which gives me lots of fresh produce. So my weekly list is pretty short, typically including these 12 items: avocados, bananas, canned chickpeas, eggs, honeycrisp apples, ground beef chuck, russet potatoes, milk, ice cream, cream cheese, yogurt and orange juice.

Here’s how much these groceries would cost (at their regular price) at those five stores, according to the data we collected while price-checking all 16 major grocery stores in Raleigh this month:

• Walmart: $38.86

• Food Lion: $38.86

• Harris Teeter: $51.08

• Lowes Foods: $53.59

• Lidl: $28.44 (missing two items on my list)

Using our interactive “receipt maker,” you can play around with your own grocery list to determine which store will give you the best prices or other preferred offerings, like cage-free eggs or organic products.

Visit our main story (which ranks our major grocery stores from cheapest to most expensive) for our full methodology, which explains why our data looks the way it does.

This story was originally published June 21, 2024 at 12:06 PM.

Kimberly Cataudella Tutuska

The News & Observer

919-419-6630

Kimberly Tutuska (she/her) is the editor of North Carolina’s service journalism team.