[gypsychic]

Yeah, yeah, it's all Publix fault, right? How utterly ridiculous....For those of you who consider it a "monopoly" well, there is a reason for that, figure it out.

Where I live I have tons of shopping options which include Publix and many more, and get good quality food at as reasonable prices as anywhere. Some of you just don't know how to shop, I guess.....

[Spring Hillian]

Every Cost of Living calculator I have accessed shows that groceries, among other things, are significantly higher in large Northeastern U.S. cities.

I dont see how Publix is a "monopoly". That would mean that they have no competition. That is not true. There are other grocery chains in FL.

Check this out.....
How Much Do Groceries Cost in New York City?

Here is a persons direct experience.....
Real Costs of City Living in NYC | Our Freaking Budget

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

I agree. There are actually many who think this isn't the case but for those who have lived elsewhere we know it is most certainly the case. Competition drives better prices and better quality, which while Publix excels in some areas in terms of service (via over-staffed stores we're paying for) the pricing truly reflects that. I have shifted over almost completely to Trader Joe's and Earth Origins Outlet which has lowered my average grocery bill about 25%, though that's not achievable for everyone...especially if not in the habit of buying unprocessed foods.

Kyle, you shop for 1? It is different when you shop for a family. I too have lived elsewhere- but as a single so have no idea what store would be my favorite store for a family up North.
As to competition.....
The thing is when a store competes with someone who comes into their market area, they usually lower the prices. Publix has never had to do that. Stores like Food Lion, Albertsons, Goodings, Path, and some I shopped at sometimes that I can't even remember the names of just could not compete. The one concession Publix made to compete....they started staying open on Sundays;but then they paid the employees who had to work on Sunday something like $1 more per hour on Sundays. They hired local kids as take out which also helps bring in the neighborhood families. It is a Florida owned company and the employees are the only stock holders so I like supporting them. Even the part timers earn stock in the company.

When I got here as a young, single person I looked at Publix from the outside thinking it was too expensive, but once I shopped there and saw the quality of the food they sold, the clean bright stores, and the friendliness and knowledge of the employees, I was hoooked.
Funny story---we started shopping the Melbourne Publix because they had a staircase to get up to the restroom on the 2nd floor. We had not realized that our toddler was considered slow by some family members from the North because he did not know how to walk up or down stairs at almost 2.......He really had never seen stairs down here. So we started shopping there every week so he could walk upstairs!

We still have a variety of stores in this area, so I am not sure you could say Publix is a real monopoly.Maybe it is just a store with a lot of satisfied customers.

Grocery store within 15 miles or so of my home.....Publix, Winn Dixie, Save a lot, Bravo, Downtown Produce, Melbourne Beach Supermarket, Super Target, Super Walmart, Walmart Neighborhood Market, GFS, BJs , Sams, and Aldis. Looks like we do have some choices.

[lily4]

We moved from California to Northern Florida and the food is quite a bit cheaper here in Florida. So far, our experience is that everything is cheaper in Florida.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Rabflmom

Grocery store within 15 miles or so of my home.....Publix, Winn Dixie, Save a lot, Bravo, Downtown Produce, Melbourne Beach Supermarket, Super Target, Super Walmart, Walmart Neighborhood Market, GFS, BJs , Sams, and Aldis. Looks like we do have some choices.

15 miles? That's a wide radius and definitely sounds cost effective when factoring grocery costs.

Furthermore do you suppose the warehouse and big box stores aren't in other states as well? The point being in terms of quality traditional supermarkets it's limited for those who wouldn't be caught dead at dumps like WalMart or Save A Lot, or buying packaging that feeds a dozen people per unit.

[Restrain]

One thing that is driving up costs is the increase in fuel costs, specifically diesel. Add that to a shortage of drivers, and transportation costs are jumping far more,than inflation. Add to that rapidly increasing electric costs thanks to the EPA, more employee costs thanks to federal regs and Obamacare, and increasing taxes, food prices increase faster than the official rate of inflation.

BTW, did you know that food and energy are explicitly excluded from the official inflation rate? Govt did this because they couldn't finagle the inflation rate down to an 'acceptable' level if the overall actual YTY market basket for ALL items was considered.

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

15 miles? That's a wide radius and definitely sounds cost effective when factoring grocery costs.

Furthermore do you suppose the warehouse and big box stores aren't in other states as well? The point being in terms of quality traditional supermarkets it's limited for those who wouldn't be caught dead at dumps like WalMart or Save A Lot, or buying packaging that feeds a dozen people per unit.

Publix and for that matter any grocery store does not have a monopoly because there are other choices in most towns. You may not like the choices and feel they are inferior to your standards but lots of people do make the choice and do shop there. As to whether Sams etc are in other states, it does not matter because we are talking monopoly and if they are there too, so what? BTW I don't shop the Walmarts in Florida for my family, but shopped there a couple weeks ago when visiting my brother in Illinois because it literally is the ONLY grocery store in 35 miles! Guess what....the food at the reunion all purchased from that store tasted delicious at the reunion. I may not be such a food snob in the future and save money when we host dinners for friends.

As for 15 miles.....Are you saying you wouldn't drive across town or stop on the way to somewhere else to go to a Wagmans?, Whole Food, Trader Joes or some other store to get things because you happen to be in the neighborhood of the store? I do it all the time. I don't turn into a pumpkin if I go a mile from my house. I often stop in stores on the other side of town because I am already there for other reasons. Lots of people shop close to where they work or where their kids go to school etc. so a 15 minute drive may be somewhere on the way to or from work, a school you or the kids go to, a doctor, a hospital, etc.. Shoot I sometimes shop at the new Publix 24 miles away because I pass by it coming home from my best friends's house.

[Fl1150]

To be honest I always thought Publix kind of had a monopoly on the Florida market but now more and more grocery stores are opening. Publix has to constantly reinvent itself to keep up with the competition especially in the major metro areas where grocery options are more varied. I went in there recently an they were offering a lot more organic as well gluten free products.

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by Fl1150

To be honest I always thought Publix kind of had a monopoly on the Florida market but now more and more grocery stores are opening. Publix has to constantly reinvent itself to keep up with the competition especially in the major metro areas where grocery options are more varied. I went in there recently an they were offering a lot more organic as well gluten free products.

Pricing wise, they've also been putting up ads to counteract Wal-Mart's advertising

[StarfishKey]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

Sounds like you didn't do the research and moved down with silly stereotypes...quality of life is great here and schools are middle of the pack compared to the rest of the country on an objective basis. Roads in general will be better here than what you find in much of the ne and mw because of no snow or salt to deal with every year.

You sound like a "complainer" to me. If you want to discuss poorly run and/or corrupt states let's start bringing up ny,nj or il. Plenty to discuss there

I have lived in FL for 6 years, and I base my comments on my experience of living here. I adore where I live, as a I stated. But that does not prevent me from being honest about the shortcomings of the state. The attitude found in every FL thread that one must deflect legitimate complaints onto other states that have nothing to do with FL, rather than directly addressing things that can be improved so that we have the absolute BEST state in the country, with the absolute BEST quality of living, is exactly why FL continues to lag behind many Northeastern states in quality of living in multiple areas. There is no reason to take it personally or cast insults. One can simply look at the issues honestly and see what could be done better. Or do you really think FL is run by God rather than people, and is entirely above reproach in every way?...

If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. That is true for every one of us. Calling me names and trying to bully me does not change that fact. I have lived in FL, NY, and NJ to know the differences between them as states for residents, and I have a right to voice my experiences here on City-Data, even though you seem to think you have a monopoly on truth and the only "right" way to think about anything.

The fact that groceries cost more in part because people are willing to pay the price for subpar produce stands, especially in SFL where vacationers, new residents living the dream, and snowbirds abound. If companies lost business, they would lower prices to attract more customers. But they don't need to, because plenty of people feel robbed but pay the bill anyway, and do nothing to band together to improve access to affordable, locally-sourced, quality food for their communities. So we truck pesticide-covered food in from all over the world and pay high prices for food that by the time we get it is mushy and on the verge of rotting, and never was ripe to begin with, rather than changing our tastes a little bit to fit the local environment and the plants (and meat, for those who partake) that actually grow well here without a lot of chemicals and water waste.

When I lived in an apartment, I grew food in organic soil in trays along my windows, and that cost very little. I positioned the trays in levels over each other to use water efficiently, with a solid tray at the bottom to catch all the water and let it evaporate up (installing a tube to keep the water flowing from bottom to top like a hydro system is even better). Now that I am fortunate to have a big yard I am growing everything I can. But my diet had to change, because I live in a tropical climate where most of the produce I am used to withers in the heat (even indoors) and in its weakened state gets attacked by pests. My neighbor has chickens (although I don't think the neighborhood is a fan of that). I rarely ever need to shop at Publix, or the fake farmer's market, anymore. And my food is much healthier, fresher, crisper, and full of nutrients - thus tastes a lot better, for very little money, and no need to get in the car and drive somewhere (since FL does not have adequate public transportation and nearly all residents must shell out money to maintain a vehicle and pay the exorbitant cost of insurance in this state). It's not that hard really to learn to compost (which is easy in FL because of the heat), to grow things organically (even indoors because the sun is so bright any window will do - some even get too much sun and scorch the plants!), and to save a lot of money on grocery bills while having access to better food. One just needs to be willing to learn new things, and adapt to the needs of new surroundings. When you grow your own food, even in little pots, you are no longer at the mercy of whatever backwards corporate structure monopolizes food price and availability in your area, with all their GMO monoculture produce that only have one variety of each plant, and all taste like styrofoam. If you can get a CSA started in your community, you can also take advantage of local produce on the cheap for the stuff that's harder to grow without being a full-time farmer, with direct delivery right to your door for better prices than grocery stores charge. And it supports local jobs.

Don't just accept the flaws that Florida has and suffer. Be a part of fixing the things our state could do better!