Family Fare vs Meijer: Who is Cheaper for Groceries?
Family Fare is a smaller grocery store chain that is part of the larger company SpartanNash. They currently have 83 stores in 6 Midwest states: North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Meijer is also a smaller grocery store chain but is not owned and operated by a larger company. They currently have 259 stores in 6 Midwest states: Mainly located in Michigan, and a few in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
To determine if Family Fare or Meijer is cheaper for groceries, we will do a side-by-side price comparison of a week’s worth of groceries. Scroll to the end to see the final verdict!
Is Family Fare more expensive than Meijer?
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
- Mini Muffins with Extra Banana
- Cottage Cheese with Canned Peaches
- Eggies in a Basket with strawberries
- Rice Krispie Cereal with milk and Bananas
Lunches
- Bacon Turkey Sandwiches with Tortilla Chips
- Caesar Pasta Salad with leftover Parmesan Chicken
- Ham and Egg Salad sandwiches with Carrot Sticks
- Dinner Leftovers
Dinners
- Potato Soup with Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, and Broccoli
- Smothered Chicken and Rice with Side Salad
- Ham, Cheese & Spinach Pasta with Garlic Bread
- Garlic Butter Shrimp over Rice with Sauteed Carrots
- Chicken Fajita Bake with Corn & Black Beans
- Caesar Chicken with Potato Wedges and Green Beans
Snacks
- Carrot and Caesar Dressing
- Hard Boiled Eggs or Deviled Eggs
- Chips and Salsa
- Turkey and Cheese Rollups
Sweet Treat
- Rice Krispie Treats
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Battle Creek, Michigan. 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 #9.”
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Family Fare Price | Meijer Price |
| Banana x 5 | $0.21 each= $1.05 | $0.24 each= $1.20 |
| Strawberries | 16oz container= $4.49 | 16oz container= $4.39 |
| Tomato (x1) | Vine Ripe $1.30 each | Greenhouse $0.63 each *on sale* |
| Lettuce | 1 head iceberg= $2.49 | 1 head iceberg= $1.99 |
| Lemon (x1) | $0.79 each | $0.55 each |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag of Russets= $3.99 | 5lb bag of yellow potatoes= $3.79 *on sale* |
| Fresh Garlic | $0.69 each | $0.79 each |
| Carrots | 1lb bag of baby carrots= $1.19 | 1lb bag of baby carrots= $0.99 |
| Bell Pepper x1 | Green $0.89 each | Green $0.79 each |
| Total: (9 items) | $16.88 | $15.12 |
In the produce section, Meijer came out cheaper with a total of $15.12. This was $1.76 cheaper than Family Fare’s total of $16.88.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Family Fare Price | Meijer Price |
| Bacon | Our Family 12oz pack= $4.29 | Meijer 12oz pack= $3.99 |
| Turkey Lunchmeat | Carl Buddig 8oz pack= $3.49 | Land o Frost 8oz pack= $3.99 *on sale* |
| Chicken Breasts (need 6) | Open Acres Frozen 2.5lb bag $5.99 each x 2=$11.98 | Meijer Fresh $1.99 a lb (4.94lbs)= $9.83 |
| Ham Steaks | Kentucky Legend 8oz pack= $3.69 | Hatfield 8oz pack= $3.09 |
| Shrimp | Superior Select 71/90ct (small) 12oz bag= $5.99 | Frederik’s 50/60ct (medium) 16oz bag= $9.99 |
| Total: (5 items) | $29.44 | $30.89 |
In the meat section, Family Fare came out cheaper with a total of $29.44. This was $1.45 cheaper than Meijer’s total of $30.89.
It is worth noting that even though we purchased more shrimp at Meijer with a 16oz back, the prize per ounce came out to $0.62. This means the 12oz bag from Family Fare was a much better deal only being $0.49 per ounce.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Family Fare Price | Meijer Price |
| Muffin Mix | Jiffy 7oz box blueberry= $1.09 *on sale* | Jiffy 7oz box raspberry= $0.79 *on sale* |
| Canned peaches | Our Family 15.25oz can= $1.49 | Meijer 15oz can= $1.28 *on sale* |
| Sandwich bread | Aunt Millie’s 16oz white bread= $1.39 | Meijer 20oz white bread= $1.79 |
| Rice Krispie Cereal | Our Family 12oz box= $2.59 | Meijer 12oz box= $2.05 |
| Marshmallows | Our Family 10oz bag= $1.00 | Meijer 10.5oz bag= $1.05 |
| Caesar Dressing | Our Family 16oz bottle= $1.99 | Meijer 16oz bottle= $2.09 |
| French Bread Loaf | Our Family 16oz loaf=$1.99 *on sale* | Meijer 10oz Italian bread= $1.00 |
| Mayonnaise | Hellman’s .5oz bottle= $2.89 | Meijer 15oz jar= $2.65 |
| Canned green beans | Our Family 14.5oz can= $0.59 | Meijer 14.5oz can= $0.59 |
| White Rice | Our Family 1lb bag= $1.29 | Riceland 2lb bag= $2.69 |
| Cream of Chicken Soup | Our Family 10.5oz can= $0.69 *on sale* | Meijer 10.5oz can= $0.69 |
| Canned Corn | Our Family 15 oz can= $0.59 | Meijer 15oz can= $0.59 |
| Canned Black Beans | Our Family 16 oz can= $0.66 *on sale* | Meijer 15.25oz can= $0.79 *on sale* |
| Salsa | Our Family 15.5oz jar= $1.50 *on sale* | Meijer 16oz jar= $1.49 |
| Taco Seasoning | Our Family 1.25oz pack= $0.39 *on sale* | Meijer 1oz pack= $0.49 |
| Tortilla Chips | Santitas 11oz bag= $2.49 | Meijer 13oz bag= $2.19 |
| Pasta | Our Family 16oz box penne= $0.99 | Meijer 16oz box penne= $1.00 |
| Total: (17 items) | $23.62 | $23.22 |
In the dry goods section, Meijer just barely came in cheaper with a total of $23.22. This was only $0.40 cheaper than Family Fare’s total of $23.62
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Family Fare Price | Meijer Price |
| Frozen Broccoli | Our Family 12oz bag= $0.95 | Meijer 12oz bag= $1.05 |
| Frozen Spinach | Our Family 2oz bag= $1.49 | Meijer 12oz bag= $1.59 |
| Total: (2 items) | $2.44 | $2.64 |
In the frozen section, Family Fare just barely came in cheaper with a total of $2.44. This was just $0.20 cheaper than Meijer’s total of $2.64.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Family Fare Price | Meijer Price |
| Cottage Cheese | Our Family 24oz container= $2.89 | Meijer 24oz container= $2.75 |
| Eggs | That’s Smart 12ct white eggs= $3.79 | Eggland’s Best 12ct white eggs= $3.95 |
| Milk | Our Family gallon= $3.39 | Meijer gallon= $2.88 |
| Butter | Our Family 16oz= $4.69 | Meijer 16oz= $4.59 |
| Parmesan cheese | Our Family 6oz bag= $2.39 | Meijer 6oz bag= $2.29 |
| Cheddar Cheese (16oz) | Our Family 16oz bag= $4.59 | Meijer 16oz bag= $4.49 |
| Cream Cheese | That’s Smart 8oz block= $1.49 | Meijer 8oz block= $2.05 |
| Total: (7 items) | $23.23 | $23.00 |
In the dairy section, Meijer just barely came in cheaper again with a total of $23.00. This was only $0.23 cheaper than Family Fare’s total of $23.23.
Is Meijer cheaper than Family Fare?
There was a lot of back and forth for who was cheaper by section, so let’s look at the overall totals.
| Section | Family Fare Price | Meijer Price |
| Produce | $16.88 | $15.12 |
| Deli/Meats | $29.44 | $30.89 |
| Dry Goods | $23.63 | $23.22 |
| Frozen Foods | $2.44 | $2.64 |
| Dairy | $23.23 | $23.00 |
| Overall Total: (40 items) | $95.62 | $94.87 |
Overall Meijer came out cheaper than Family Fare with a total of $94.87. This was just $0.75 (less than 1%) cheaper than Family Fare’s total of $95.62. Wow! I think this is the closest grocery store price comparison that I have done yet!
With less than a $1.00 separating these two totals, if I had the time, I would shop both stores. I would meal plan based on what they have on sale in their weekly flyers, and I would price compare in store.
Meijer has an app with grocery prices, and I would use this while I was in Family Fare. I would shop each store based on who has the best prices.
If we had only bought the item at cheapest price from each store, we would have had a new total of $87.01. That would have saved us an additional $7.86 (about 8%).
That may not seem like much, but if you could save $8 per week every week by shopping both stores, that would save you $416 a year. That is like getting one month free of groceries!
For more side-by-side grocery store comparisons, check out “Family Fare vs Hornbacher’s: Who is Cheaper?” and “Aldi vs Meijer: Who is Cheaper?“
