Food City vs Kroger: Who is Cheaper?
Food City is a smaller grocery store chain with 132 locations in 5 southern states. Kroger is a very large grocery store chain that operates under many names. The Kroger name is on 1,239 locations in 17 states.
We are going to take a weeklong meal plan with grocery list, and price compare Food City and Kroger to determine who has cheaper prices for groceries. Scroll to the end to see the final results!
Is Food City cheaper than Kroger?
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
- Scrambled Eggs with Homestyle Potatoes (chunky hash browns using leftover baked potatoes)
- French Toast with Pancake Syrup
- Apple Pie Overnight Oats (sauteed apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, pancake syrup, and quick oats)
Lunches
- Baked Potato with leftover taco seasoned ground turkey
- Grilled Cheese with Carrot Sticks & Tortilla Chips
- White Bean Hummus with Carrots
- Salads with Tomato, Cucumber, and Cheese
- Dinner Leftovers
Dinners
- Teriyaki Chicken with broccoli and rice (sauce made with brown sugar and soy sauce)
- Creamy Spinach Chicken and Pasta (leftover chicken, creamed spinach, tomatoes, and pasta) served with side salad
- Chicken and Rice Soup (leftover chicken, rice, chicken bouillon, and mixed vegetables) with Toasted Butter Bread
- Turkey Hamburgers with Homemade Potato Wedges
- Cheesy Tuna Melts on Hamburger Buns (tuna, ranch dressing, and cheese) with side salads and sauteed apples
- Taco Pasta (ground turkey, black beans, canned rotel style tomatoes, taco seasoning, and tortilla chips)
Snacks
- Apples
- Carrot sticks with ranch dressing
- Tortilla Chips
Sweet Treat
- Vanilla Ice Cream with Pancake Syrup
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Cookeville, Tennessee. 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 #5“
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Food City Price | Kroger Price |
| Potatoes | Harvest Club 5lb bag of red potatoes= $3.99 | 5lb bag of russet potatoes= $3.49 *on sale* |
| Apples | 3lb bag of golden delicious= $4.99 | 3lb bag of fuji apples= $4.49 |
| Carrots | 1lb bag of organic baby carrots= $1.99 | 1lb bag of baby carrots= $0.99 |
| Lettuce | 1 head organic romaine lettuce= $1.99 | 1 head iceberg lettuce= $1.99 |
| Tomato | 1 fresh tomato= $1.99 | 1 beefsteak= $1.29 |
| Cucumber | $0.79 each | $0.69 each *on sale* |
| Total: (6 items) | $15.74 | $12.94 |
In the produce section, Kroger came out cheaper with a total of $12.94. This was $2.80 cheaper than Food City’s total of $15.74.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Food City Price | Kroger Price |
| Chicken Breasts (4-6 needed) | Food City $4.49 a lb (3lbs)= $13.47 | Heritage Farm $2.79 a lb (4.73lbs)= $13.20 |
| 2lbs ground turkey | Jennie-O 93% fresh ($5.79 a lb) x2= $11.58 | Honeysuckle 1lb roll ($3.99 each x12)= $7.98 |
| Total: (2 items) | $25.05 | $21.18 |
In the meat section, Kroger came out cheaper with a total of $21.18. This was $3.87 cheaper than Food City’s total of $25.05.
It is worth noting that we purchased almost 1.73lbs more chicken at Kroger, so they were not only cheaper they were a much better value as well!
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Food City Price | Kroger Price |
| Loaf of Bread | Food City 20oz white bread= $1.89 | Kroger 20oz white bread= $1.79 *on sale* |
| Pancake Syrup | That’s Smart 24oz bottle= $1.99 | Kroger 24oz bottle= $1.99 *on sale* |
| Quick Oats | Food Club 18oz container= $2.29 | Kroger 42oz container= $2.50 *on sale* |
| Tortilla Chips | Calidad 11oz bag= $2.29 | Kroger 10oz bag= $1.99 |
| White Beans (canned) | Lucks 15.5 oz can= $1.00 *on sale* | Bush’s 15.5oz can= $1.25 *on sale* |
| Canned Tuna | Chicken of the sea 5oz can= $1.39 | Kroger 5oz can= $0.89 *on sale* |
| White Rice | Supreme 1lb bag= $0.99 | Kroger 2lb bag= $1.50 *on sale* |
| Soy Sauce | Kikkoman 5oz bottle= $1.59 | Kroger 10oz bottle= $1.69 |
| Brown Sugar | Domino 1lb box= $1.79 *on sale* | Kroger 2lb bag= $1.49 |
| Ranch Dressing | That’s Smart 16oz bottle= $1.89 | Kroger 16oz bottle= $1.99 *on sale* |
| Chicken Boullion | Knorr 6ct= $1.29 | Knorr 8ct= $1.19 |
| Pasta | Barilla 16oz penne= $1.79 | Kroger 16oz penne= $1.33 *on sale* |
| Hamburger Buns | That’s Smart 8ct= $1.39 | Smart Way 8ct= $1.29 |
| Black beans (canned) | Food Club 15.25oz can= $0.79 | Kroger 15.25oz can= $0.79 |
| Taco seasoning | Food Club 1.25oz pack= $0.59 | Kroger 1.25oz pack= $0.49 |
| Canned tomatoes (rotel style with chiles or peppers) | Food Club 14.5oz can= $0.99 | Kroger 14.5oz can= $1.00 |
| Total: (16 items) | $23.95 | $23.17 |
In the dry goods section, Kroger came out cheaper with a total of $23.17. This was $0.78 cheaper than Food City’s total of $23.95.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Food City Price | Kroger Price |
| Frozen Broccoli | That’s Smart 12oz bag= $1.19 | Kroger 12oz bag= $1.25 |
| Creamed Spinach | Green Giant 8oz box= $1.99 | Bird’s eye 10.8oz bag= $2.79 *on sale* |
| Frozen Mixed vegetables | Food Club 12oz bag= $1.14 *on sale* | Kroger 12oz bag= $1.25 *on sale* |
| Vanilla Ice Cream | That’s Smart 56oz box= $2.99 | Kroger 48oz box= $2.79 |
| Total: (4 items) | $7.31 | $8.08 |
In the frozen food section, Food City came in cheaper with a total of $7.31. This was $0.77 cheaper than Kroger’s total of $8.08.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Food City Price | Kroger Price |
| Eggs | Full Circle large brown eggs 12ct= $2.99 | Kroger 12ct medium white eggs= $3.29 |
| 2% milk | That’s Smart gallon= $3.99 | Kroger gallon= $3.39 |
| Cheddar Cheese Slices | Kraft 8oz/10ct= $3.59 | Kroger 6oz/8ct= $2.49 *on sale* |
| Shredded Cheddar Cheese | That’s Smart 8oz bag= $1.99 | Kroger 8oz bag= $2.49 |
| Shredded Mozzarella Cheese | That’s Smart 8oz bag= $1.99 | Kroger 8oz bag= $2.49 |
| Total: (5 items) | $14.55 | $14.15 |
In the dairy section, Kroger came out cheaper with a total of $14.15. This was $0.40 cheaper than Food City’s total of $14.55.
Is Kroger cheaper than Food City?
Kroger came out cheaper in most sections, but let’s look at the overall totals.
| Section | Food City Price | Kroger Price |
| Produce | $15.74 | $12.94 |
| Deli/Meats | $25.05 | $21.18 |
| Dry Goods | $23.95 | $23.17 |
| Frozen Foods | $7.31 | $8.08 |
| Dairy | $14.55 | $14.15 |
| Overall Total: (32 items) | $86.60 | $79.52 |
Overall, Kroger came out cheaper than Food City with a total of $79.52. This was $7.08 (about 8%) cheaper than Food City’s total of $86.60.
Both stores have very good prices on basic items. If you were to use the weekly sales flyers to meal plan and stock up on basics, you could potentially save a lot of money every month.
For more grocery store price comparisons, check out “Foodland vs Safeway: Who is Cheaper?” and “Aldi vs Giant Food Stores: Who is Cheaper?“
