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Problem solved, problem solved
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump hardly agree on anything in the race for the presidency. This also applies when it comes to the question of who is responsible for the high prices in grocery stores.
Harris has announced she will crack down on price gouging on day one of her presidency, while Trump is proposing to impose a 10% tariff on all products imported into the U.S. from overseas. With so many important issues to consider, there is so much to focus on, but for many families, food prices are a major concern.
While we don’t want to debate the validity of the two presidential candidates’ arguments here, we looked at grocery prices on the South Coast to find out which chain is the cheapest.
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What was on our shopping list?
On August 12, we visited six supermarket chains with a shopping list in search of the cheapest prices. We looked for six basic food items that an average family could buy:
- Milk: one gallon of whole milk
- Eggs: a dozen large eggs, either brown or white
- Bread: a 20-ounce loaf of white or wheat bread
- Bananas: one pound
- Ice cream: 1.5-quart carton
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless breast, packed, not frozen, one pound
To maintain consistency, we stuck with private label products, but there were also plenty of organic alternatives to choose from if you prefer.
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Which stores did we survey?
- Price Rite Marketplace at 139 Hathaway Road, New Bedford
- Market basket at 122 Sawyer St., New Bedford
- Shaw’s at 15 State Road, Dartmouth
- Aldi at 200 North Dartmouth Mall, Dartmouth
- Stop & Shop at 221 Huddleston Ave., Fairhaven
- Walmart at 42 Fairhaven Commons, Fairhaven
Which grocery stores were the cheapest and most expensive?
The cheapest grocery store on this list was the Aldi in the Dartmouth Mall, where the six items cost a total of $13.83. The Price Rite Marketplace was the cleanest store and the second cheapest at $15.50.
While Stop & Shop was the most expensive at $20.62, Shaw’s followed closely behind at just 8 cents less.
Since Walmart in Fairhaven doesn’t sell chicken, it’s not fair to count it among the other grocery stores, but we still want to let you know the prices of the other items sold there. Also, the bananas at Walmart were sold in 3-pound bunches.
We have the evidence: Total costs
| Aldi | Price Rite | Market Bskt | Shaw’s | S&S | Walmart | |
| Milk | 3,32 € | 2,59 € | 2,59 € | 3,99 € | 3,99 € | 3,32 € |
| Eggs | 1,89 € | 3,97 € | 3,69 € | 3,99 € | 3,99 € | 3,73 € |
| bread | 1,39 € | 1,39 € | 1,19 € | 2,99 € | 2,29 € | 1,42 € |
| Bananas | 0,49 € | $0.27 | 0,49 € | 0,59 € | 0,69 € | 0,69 € |
| Ice cream | $2.75 | 2,79 € | $4.09 | 3,99 € | 3,97 € | 2,78 € |
| Chicken | 3,99 € | 4,49 € | 3,99 € | 4,99 € | 4,99 € | n/a |
| in total | $13.83 | $15.50 | $16.04 | $20.54 | $20.62 | $13.13 |
SStandard-Times editor Kathryn Gallerani can be reached at [email protected]Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to the Standard-Times.
