Food City vs Fry’s: Who is Cheaper for Groceries?
Being clever means harnessing the power of price comparison to make informed decisions and stretch your budget further. By comparing products and stores, you become a savvy shopper who knows how to navigate the market, ensuring you get the best value for your hard-earned money.
Today we will do a side-by-side price comparison of Food City and Fry’s to determine which grocery store is cheaper. We will also see if shopping just one store is better, or if we could potentially save even more by shopping both stores!
Is Food City cheaper than Frys?
For this price comparison, I have made a meal plan for a family of 4 using “25 Cheap food 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
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 using frozen mixed vegetables and 1 can of cream of chicken soup)
- Ham and Cheese Quiche with Homemade Rice a Roni
- 3 Meat Pizza using leftover Ham, leftover Bacon, and Pepperoni with a Spinach Side Salad
- 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
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Mesa, Arizona. 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 Family Meal Plan on a Budget #2.”
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Food City Price | Fry’s Price |
| 6 Bananas | $0.26 each= $1.56 | $0.25 each= $1.50 |
| Apples | 3lbs of Gala Apples= $3.27 | 3lbs of Fuji apples= $4.49 *on sale* |
| Spinach | Dole 8oz bag= $2.69 | Kroger 10oz bag= $2.29 |
| Carrots | 1lb bag=$0.99 | 1lb bag=$0.99 |
| Celery | 1 bunch= $2.69 | 1 bunch= $1.89 |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag of Russet potatoes= $3.19 | 5lb bag of Idaho potatoes= $3.89 |
| Tomato | $1.91 each | $1.15 each |
| Cucumber | $0.26 each | $0.59 each |
| Total: (8 items) | $16.56 | $16.79 |
In the produce section, Food City came out cheaper with a total of $16.56. This was $0.23 cheaper than Fry’s total of $16.79.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Food City Price | Fry’s Price |
| Bacon | Food Club 12oz pack= $2.69 | FUD 8.8oz pack= $3.19 |
| Ground Beef (1lb) | FC 73% fresh 1lb= $3.19 | Kroger 80% fresh 1lb= $3.97 *on sale* |
| Chicken Breasts (4-6 needed) | $2.09 a lb (4lbs)= $8.36 *on sale* | $1.99 a lb (4.2lbs)= $8.36 |
| Diced Ham | Buddig 8oz pack= $3.19 | Smithfield 8oz pack= $2.99 *on sale* |
| Pepperoni | Hormel 6oz pack= $5.19 | Kroger 6oz pack= $2.99 |
| Total: (5 items) | $22.62 | $21.50 |
In the meat section, Fry’s came out cheaper with a total of $21.50. This was $1.12 less than Fry’s total of $21.50.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Food City Price | Fry’s Price |
| Flour Tortillas | FC 8ct= $2.09 | Kroger 10ct= $1.99 |
| Sandwich Bread | Food City 20oz bread= $2.19 | Kroger 20oz bread= $1.99 *on sale* |
| Peanut Butter | Food Club 16oz jar= $2.19 | Kroger 16oz jar= $2.29 |
| Quick Oats | Food Club 42 oz container= $3.59 *on sale* | Kroger 18oz container= $2.69 |
| Brown Sugar | C&H 1lb box= $2.49 | Kroger 2lb bag= $2.29 |
| Garbanzo beans (canned) | Food Club 15.5oz can= $1.69 | Kroger 15.5oz can= $0.79 |
| Mayonnaise | Best Foods 6oz container= $3.19 *on sale* | Kroger 12oz container= $2.99 *on sale* |
| Soy Sauce | Food Club 10oz bottle= $2.59 | Kroger 10oz bottle= $1.49 |
| Hoisin Sauce | Lee Kum Kee 20oz bottle= $5.89 | Kroger 15.3oz bottle= $2.99 |
| Sesame Oil | *substitution* Nutrioli soybean oil= $4.69 | Sun Luck 5oz bottle= $3.99 |
| Spaghetti Noodles | La Moderna 16oz bag= $1.29 *on sale* | Kroger 16oz box= $1.25 *on sale* |
| All Purpose Flour | Bashas’ 2lb bag= $2.19 | Kroger 2lb bag= $1.69 |
| Cream of Chicken Soup | Food Club 10.5oz can= $1.49 | Kroger 10.5oz can= $1.00 |
| Chicken Bouillon Cubes | Knorr 3.1oz box= $1.29 *on sale* | Knorr 3.1oz box= $1.19 |
| Dry Active Yeast (need 2) | Fleishmann’s 3pack= $2.19 *on sale* | Fleishmann’s 3pack= $2.29 |
| White Rice | Blue Ribbon 2lb bag= $2.19 *on sale* | Kroger 2lb bag= $1.50 *on sale* |
| Black Beans (canned) | SunVista 15oz can= $1.59 *on sale* | Kroger 15.25oz can= $0.79 |
| Powdered Sugar | C&H 1lb box= $2.49 | Kroger 2lb bag= $2.29 |
| Total: (19 items) | $45.32 | $35.50 |
In the dry goods section, Fry’s came out cheaper with a total of $35.50. This was $9.82 less than Food City’s total of $45.32.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Food City Price | Fry’s Price |
| Frozen Broccoli | Flav-R-Pac 12oz bag= $2.49 *on sale* | Kroger 12oz bag= $1.25 |
| Frozen Mixed Vegetables | Flav-R-Pac 12oz bag= $2.49 *on sale* | Kroger 12oz bag= $1.25 |
| Pie Crust | Food Club 2 pack= $3.59 | Kroger 2 pack= $2.69 |
| Total: (3 items) | $8.57 | $5.19 |
In the frozen section, Fry’s came out cheaper with a total of $5.19. This was $3.38 less than Food City’s total of $8.57.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Food City Price | Fry’s Price |
| Eggs | Food City 12ct large white eggs= $2.69 | Kroger 12ct large white eggs= $1.89 |
| Shredded Cheddar Cheese | Food Club 8oz bag= $1.89 *on sale* | Kroger 8oz bag= $2.00 *on sale* |
| Shredded Mozzarella Cheese | Food Club 8oz bag= $1.89 *on sale* | Kroger 8oz bag= $2.00 *on sale* |
| Milk | Food City gallon= $3.99 | Fry’s gallon= $2.49 |
| Total: (4 items) | $10.46 | $8.38 |
In the dairy section, Fry’s came out cheaper with a total of $8.38. This was $2.08 less than Food City’s total of $10.46.
Is Fry’s more expensive than Food City?
Fry’s came out cheaper in most sections but let’s look at the overall totals.
| Section | Food City Price | Fry’s Price |
| Produce | $16.79 | $14.54 |
| Deli/Meats | $22.62 | $21.50 |
| Dry Goods | $45.32 | $35.50 |
| Frozen Foods | $8.57 | $5.19 |
| Dairy | $10.46 | $8.38 |
| Overall Total: (38 items) | $103.53 | $87.36 |
Overall, Fry’s came out cheaper than Food City with a total of $87.36. This was $16.17 (about 16%) less than Food City’s total of $103.53.
While I am always happy to see totals near $100, I have to say that Fry’s killed it this week. If I could only go to one store, I would definitely go there.
If I had the time to go to both places or place pick up orders and only bought what was cheapest at each store, my total would have been $83.41.
That is an additional savings of $3.95 (about 4%). That may not seem like much, but if our grocery budget is $100, that would leave us with $16.59 to stock up on great deals like cheese or apply that extra to savings.
