Is Ingles cheaper than Food Lion?
Ingles Market and Food Lion are both smaller chains of grocery stores and have locations mostly in the South including North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia.
For this pricing showdown to find the cheapest groceries, we will see if Ingles Market or Food Lion wins. Skip to the end to see the final verdict!
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Food Lion vs Ingles Prices
For this price comparison, I have made a meal plan for a family of 4 using “25 Cheap food that fills you up when you are broke!” as a guide. Our plan is to get groceries for a week that are healthy and cheap!
Here is our meal plan:
Breakfasts
- Egg, Cheese, and Bacon Burritos x2
- Toast with Peanut Butter and Bananas x2
- Baked Apple Oatmeal Bars x3 (easy recipe here)
Lunches
- Spinach Salads with Hard Boiled Eggs and Leftover Ham & Ranch Dressing (and tomato & cucumber)
- Homemade Hummus with Carrots and Celery
- Egg Salad Sandwiches
- Leftovers
Dinners
- Meatloaf with Mashed potatoes and Sauteed Carrots
- Chicken Lo Mein with Broccoli (sauce is made with soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and sesame oil)
- Leftover Chicken and Dumplings (easy dumpling recipe here) using frozen mixed vegetables and 1 can of cream of chicken soup)
- Ham and Cheese Quiche with Homemade Rice a Roni (rice a roni recipe here)
- 3 Meat Pizza using leftover Ham, leftover Bacon, and Pepperoni with a Spinach Side Salad (easy pizza dough recipe here)
- Leftover Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas with Rice and Black Beans
Snacks
- Bananas
- Carrots & Celery with Ranch
- Peanut Butter and Apples
Sweet Treat
- Homemade Cinnamon Rolls (see recipe here)
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Statesville, North Carolina. I will be selecting items for our meal plan that are the absolute cheapest.
This means mostly generic store brand options and the smallest size needed. This may not be the best value, but we are going for the cheapest option.
We are assuming that we already have kitchen basics like cooking oil, seasonings, salt/pepper, and baking powder at home. Everything else needed for the meal plan will need to be purchased.
For a more in depth break down on how I would make this meal plan work, check out “Healthy Grocery List for Family of 4 on a Budget #2.”
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Food Lion Price | Ingles Price |
| 6 Bananas | $0.39 a lb = $0.93 | $0.68 a lb = $1.63 |
| Gala Apples | 3 lb bag= $4.49 | 3 lb bag- $5.68 |
| Spinach | Dole 6oz bag- $3.29 | Fresh Express 6oz bag- $3.78 |
| Whole Carrots | $0.69 a lb = $0.69 | 16 oz bag- $0.98 |
| Celery | 1 stalk= 1.29 *on sale* | 1 stalk – $1.98 |
| Potatoes | Russet 5lb bag- $3.69 | Idaho Potatoes 5 lb bag- $4.48 |
| Tomato | $1.89 a lb=$0.94 *on sale* | $1.68 a lb- $0.84 |
| Cucumber | $0.79 each *on sale* | $0.98 each |
| Total: (8 items) | $16.11 | $20.35 |
Food Lion had quite a few produce items on sale, so they came in cheaper at $16.11. That was $4.24 cheaper than Ingles at $20.35
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Food Lion Price | Ingles Price |
| Bacon | Food Lion 16oz $4.48 *on sale* | Jamestown 16oz – $3.98 |
| Ground Beef (1lb) | Food Lion 73% fresh – $4.79 | 75/25 fresh – $4.08 *on sale* |
| Chicken Breasts (4-6 needed) | Food Lion $2.29 a lb, 3lbs – $6.87 | Ingles, $3.48 a lb, 3lbs – $10.44 |
| Diced Ham | Smithfield 16oz pack- $5.99 | Smithfield 8 oz – $3.68 |
| Pepperoni | Food Lion 6oz – $2.48 | Armour 5oz – $3.78 |
| Total: (5 items) | $24.61 | $25.96 |
Not only did Food Lion come out cheaper, but we also got bigger packages of diced ham and pepperoni! Food Lion was $24.61 which was $1.35 cheaper than Ingles at $25.96.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Food Lion Price | Ingles Price |
| Flour Tortillas | Mission Street 10 ct Tortillas – $2.29 | Old El Paso 10ct $1.50 *on sale* |
| Loaf bread | Cha-Ching White Bread 20oz $1.09 | Laura Lynn White Bread 20oz – $1.50 *on sale* |
| Peanut Butter | Food Lion 16.3 oz jar- $2.18 | Laura Lynn 16.3oz jar – $2.78 |
| Oatmeal | Food Lion 18oz container- $2.19 | Laura Lynn 18oz container – $2.50 *on sale* |
| Brown Sugar | Food Lion 16oz – $1.69 | Domino 16oz box 3/$1.00 = $0.33 *on sale* |
| Garbanzo beans (canned) | Food Lion 15.5 oz can – $0.84 | Hanover 15.5 oz – $1.48 *on sale* |
| Mayonnaise | Food Lion 16oz – $2.39 | Duke’s 8oz jar- $2.58 |
| Soy Sauce | Kikkoman 5oz- $1.38 | Kikkoman 5ooz – $1.58 |
| Hoisin Sauce | Dynasty 7oz – $2.99 | Lee Kum Kee 8.5 oz – $3.58 |
| Sesame Oil | Kikkoman 5oz – $3.79 | Kikkoman 5oz – $3.98 |
| Spaghetti Noodles | Food Lion 16oz – $0.96 | Laura Lynn 160z – $1.68 |
| All Purpose Flour | Food Lion 2lb bag- $1.49 | Tendabake 2lb bag – $1.98 *on sale* |
| Cream of Chicken Soup | Food Lion 10.5 oz can – $0.99 | Laura Lynn 10.5 oz can – $1.38 |
| Chicken Bouillon Cubes | Knorr 3.1oz box- $1.09 | Knorr 2.5oz box – $1.50 *on sale* |
| Active Dry Yeast (need 2) | Food Lion 3ct- $1.69 | Fleishmann’s 3ct – $1.98 *on sale* |
| White Rice | Food Lion 1lb bag – $0.99 | Laura Lynn 1lb bag- $1.28 |
| Black Beans (canned) | Food Lion 15.5oz $0.84 | Luck’s black beans 15oz – $1.00 *on sale* |
| Powdered Sugar | Food Lion 16oz bag- $1.69 | Laura Lynn 16oz box- $1.28 |
| Total: (19 items) | $30.57 | $33.98 |
Food Lion came out the cheaper option with $30.57. That was $3.32 cheaper than Ingels at $33.98.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Food Lion Price | Ingles Price |
| Frozen Broccoli | Food Lion 12oz bag- $1.39 | Laura Lynn 10oz – $1.38 |
| Frozen Mixed Vegetables | Food Lion 16oz bag- $1.69 | Laura Lynn 16oz bag – $2.18 |
| Pie Crust | Food Lion Deep Dish 2-pack – $3.49 | Pillsbury Pie Crust 2 pack- $3.48 |
| Total: (3 items) | $4.18 | $3.82 |
This was very close with Ingles coming in cheaper at $3.82. That was $0.47 lower than Food Lion at $4.18.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Food Lion Price | Ingles Price |
| Eggs | Food Lion Large White 12ct – $2.49 | Laura Lynn Large White 12ct – $2.98 |
| Shredded Cheddar Cheese | Food Lion 8oz bag- $2.00 | Laura Lynn 8 oz – $1.50 *on sale* |
| Shredded Mozzarella Cheese | Food Lion 8oz bag- $2.00 | Laura Lynn 8 oz – $1.50 *on sale* |
| Milk | Food Lion 2% gallon – $4.09 | Laura Lynn 2% gallon – $5.08 |
| Total: (3 items) | $10.58 | $11.06 |
Another tight race, but Food Lion came out cheaper at $10.58 compared to $11.06 at Ingles. That is a difference of $0.48.
Is Food Lion cheaper than Ingles?
Even though there were no huge differences, the small differences definitely added up!
| Section | Food Lion Price | Ingles Price |
| Produce | $16.11 | $20.35 |
| Deli/Meats | $24.61 | $25.96 |
| Dry Goods | $30.57 | $33.89 |
| Frozen Foods | $6.57 | $7.04 |
| Dairy | $10.58 | $11.06 |
| Overall Total: (38 items) | $88.44 | $98.30 |
The cheapest groceries for the meal plan came from Food Lion with a total of $88.44. This was $9.86 cheaper than Ingles. The total savings was about 10%.
Even though quite a few items were on sale at both locations, I think that Food Lion had better prices. If you were to make your meal plan based on the sales flyer at Food Lion, I believe your grocery total could be below $75 for a full week.
Food Lion has a program called “Shop & Earn” where you not only get digital coupons and savings, but you can also collect cash back off your total. Plus, you will want to sign up for their MVP card that gives you access to all sale prices.
For more grocery store comparisons, check out “Is Walmart or Food Lion cheaper for groceries?” and “Ingles vs Walmart: Who is cheaper for Groceries?“
