Which Houston grocery store chain has the lowest prices on food staples? (Sugar Land: coupons, buying)

[Mom2Feebs]

HEB, consistently lower on more items.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by chris_ut

Be wary of buying the cheap meat at Walmart, it is full of fillers and you get what you pay for.

This is true. If you read the label closely, you will see these meats sometimes have 10% (in weight) or more added water! Even in the non-seasoned meat. So it better be cheap, since you are getting 10% less.

HEB is usually better and cheaper that the non-walmart groceries, I just wish they could had better produce. Randalls seems to be able to keep decent produce, so why can't HEB? Also, HEB fiddles with their prices for certain things from store to store... more noticably than the others.

Haven't shopped at Fiesta enough to really compare, but when I have it's been just fine and well priced.

[Mom2Feebs]

Originally Posted by atxcio

This is true. If you read the label closely, you will see these meats sometimes have 10% (in weight) or more added water! Even in the non-seasoned meat. So it better be cheap, since you are getting 10% less.

HEB is usually better and cheaper that the non-walmart groceries, I just wish they could had better produce. Randalls seems to be able to keep decent produce, so why can't HEB? Also, HEB fiddles with their prices for certain things from store to store... more noticably than the others.

Haven't shopped at Fiesta enough to really compare, but when I have it's been just fine and well priced.

Wow, see, to me, HEB has the best produce I've ever seen, for the price. Randall's pisses me off to no end with their produce. We have kind of a puny selection at the Flagship at Town & Country....and it is EXPENSIVE! Who do they think they're fooling?

[CherryMagic]

Originally Posted by Poltracker

Foodtown has best prices IMO on all but frozen foods. Lately, their meat quality has been really good and their produce is always the freshest as compared to Walmart, and my local HEB.

Foodtown, I shopped at one yesterday & I noticed a huge increase in prices. Good grief food is getting expensive. Time to stop eating! lol

Foodtown is also pretty pricey on their OTC medicines - Walmart is the cheapest there.

The did open up a new Foodarama on Fuqua- I've shopped at F-A-R before - Might check them out next time.

I like HEB because of their huge selections. Kroger and Randalls are just too high. (Except on their 10 for $10 sales)

In these times, I want more money in my pockets.

Just my 2 cents: I would NEVER buy produce from Fiesta or Foodtown - I had a temp job at the Grocer's Supply warehouse (they supply the produce) & the nastiness of that place and what I saw made me sick to my stomach.

Please thoroughly wash your produce and wipe off/disinfect the top of any canned items. (Trust me on this)

[desertsun41]

Originally Posted by chris_ut

Be wary of buying the cheap meat at Walmart, it is full of fillers and you get what you pay for.

Not to mention it very well may be imported from China. Check the labels if you care about your health.

Also before shopping Walmart we should check the unemployment rate in America and think about going elsewhere to purchase American goods.

[crbcrbrgv]

Originally Posted by theSUBlime

Foodtown...although it's a little sketchy to me.

Why? Because they are in less upscale neighborhoods? I shop at the one on Kirkwood and Bissonnet. Now I do understand if you wouldn't want to venture into that neighborhood. But I will tell you their prices are pretty much unbeatable on staples. And beer? What a bargain!

[HookTheBrotherUp]

For meats, the wife and I take a scenic drive from Katy using the back roads to get to Hempstead; from there we drive five miles on HWY290 to the Chappell Hill Sausage company's outlet store to purchase our meats. The meat is fresh, never frozen, straight from the slaughter house, and costs much less than any grocery store. I call ahead and reserve the entire filet mignon. We purchase all our cuts of meat, hamburger meat, and sausage that will last us usually two months. And the grilling is fantastic!

[VickiMBA]

I agree with the other recommendations, but I also think SuperTarget should be considered. Granted, it leaves a little to be desired when it comes to produce and meats, but as far as other necessities (toothpaste, toilet paper, etc.), I find SuperTarget to have among the lowest prices. HEB, Fiesta, and Food Town have good prices and selection when it comes to produce and meats, but of those I can honestly say that I only feel comfortable shopping at HEB, as the Fiesta and Food Town stores that are close to my area are in very sketchy neighborhoods. HEB has good prices and selections when it comes to meats and produce, but as far as other staples, I find them to be pricier than other stores such as SuperTarget and Wal-Mart.

The bottom line is, I do most of my weekly shopping for perishable items at Wal-Mart and HEB because of the pricing and selection. Wal-Mart WILL match advertised prices, but it is a pain to bring in ads and have Wal-Mart price-match. Also, the people behind you in line won't be too appreciative (I have been in line behind customers that price-matched everything fronm milk to meats and diapers, and it is no fun!). However, when it comes to other staples, I will shop at SuperTarget, since I find SuperTarget to have lower prices for frozen foods, beverages, toiletries, breads, etc., i.e. non-perishable items. I find that if you go in on a Monday or Tuesday (i.e. early in the week), you will find 1/2 price specials on meats at SuperTarget. I won't go to a Fiesta or Food Town because I am concerned about safety, especially since I have been the victim of a supermarket parking lot mugging.

I do miss having Albertson's around! They had a very good selection, great prices, and an on-site bakery and butcher departments...which would slash prices by at least 50% after 7 pm because they needed to get rid of items that lost their freshness after a day (i.e ground meat and breads). Ah, I miss the days where I could buy freshly ground sirloin (90% lean) for $1/lb.! That is much less than what we pay for ground round these days.

It would be nice if we could just have one store that had everything...great selection of fresh produce and meats, great prices on staples and a presence in safe neighborhoods. If that were the case, I wouldn't be shopping at 4 different places!

[chris_ut]

You must have some kinda different Super Target near you because the one near my house charges a decent 20-30% higher markup than Walmart or HEB on most items.

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by chris_ut

You must have some kinda different Super Target near you because the one near my house charges a decent 20-30% higher markup than Walmart or HEB on most items.

Some journalist did an investigative piece about Walmart vs. Target and discovered that the overall price difference was slim. Walmart puts their sale items on the ends of the aisles and puts their higher priced stuff in the middle. It evens out more than people realize.