Grocery shopping is a necessity for almost all students. Saving money is also a necessity for most. Being able to save money on groceries allows students to spend money elsewhere. Let's put Walmart, Albertsons, and Broulim’s to the test looking at the essential items like milk, eggs, bread, fruits and vegetables.

Whole milk

Starting with a gallon of milk.

• Walmart $3.82
• Albertsons $4.99
• Broulim’s $3.99

So, Walmart takes the win this round.

2% Milk

Next up, 2% gallon of milk.

• Walmart $3.82
• Albertsons $4.89
• Broulim’s 3.99

Most milk prices were pretty similar, but yet again, Walmart took another win in price.

Eggs

Round three: an 18-count carton of eggs.

• Walmart $8.82
• Albertsons $10.99
• Broulim’s $9.69

Bread

Looking at bread, there were lots of options at each store. Each store also offers fresh bread straight from the bakery.

Let’s compare Grandma Sycamore’s bread:

• Walmart $2.98
• Albertsons was having a sale. Usually, they sell their Grandma Sycamore bread for $4.99, but the sale brought it down to $3.99.
• Broulim’s $2.99

So by one cent, Walmart takes the prize

Each store had lots of wheat bread options and brands, so it was hard to compare. The differing prices for wheat bread are as follows:

• Walmart’s Great Value Wheat bread is $1.42.
• Albertsons Signature Select bread is priced at $1.69.
• Broulim’s Bread Lovers wheat bread is $2.29.

Walmart continues to be a great place to buy bread.

Ramen

Now, the stereotyped college meal: ramen.

The cheapest ramen at each store is priced as follows:

• Walmart 28¢ each
• Albertsons 49¢ each
• Broulim’s 39¢ each

Walmart wins again.

Other pasta

Along with ramen, let’s look at Barilla elbow pasta noodles

• Walmart $1.84
• Albertsons also had a sale on their Barilla elbow pasta noodle. Usually, they are priced at $2.29, but their sale brought it down to $1.49.
• Broulim’s $1.99

In this category, Albertsons takes the win because of their sale.

Chicken noodle soup

The next category is Campbell’s chicken noodle soup

• Walmart $1.72
• Albertsons $1.99
• Broulim’s $2.29

Fruits and veggies

Now, on to fruits and vegetables.

Red delicious apples are priced at:

• Walmart $1.58/lb
• Albertsons $1.99/lb
• Broulim’s 86¢/lb

A win for Broulim’s!

Bananas

• Walmart 40¢ a pound
• Albertsons 59¢ a pound
• Broulim’s 59¢ a pound

Avocados

• Walmart 70¢
• Albertsons $2.99
• Broulim’s $2.99

Cucumbers

• Walmart 76¢
• Albertsons $1.69
• Broulim’s 50¢

Roma tomatoes

• Walmart $1.28
• Albertsons $1.99
• Broulim’s $1.29

Each store has a wide variety of brands and options to choose from, and ultimately, the choice is up to you. The environments are also unique to each store.

Trying out which grocery store and making a decision that is best for you is most important. Another important factor in deciding which grocery store is best for you is the location. Walmart can be too far for some students but their shuttle service can help. Broulim’s is very close to campus. Albertsons has a lot of sales. Each store also offers lots of different brands so it is great to try out all grocery stores.

In a survey conducted online, which included 42 students at BYU-Idaho, 83% of students shop at Walmart, 12% shop at Broulim’s, and 5% shop at Albertsons.

Feature Image: The stocked shelves of the grocery store. Photo Credit: Stock photo