Food Depot vs Walmart: Who is Cheaper?
Food Depot is a regional grocery chain with 41 stores all located near Atlanta, GA. Walmart is the biggest retailer in the US and has stores in every state that sells groceries.
To determine if Food Depot or Walmart is cheaper for groceries, we are going to do a side-by-side price comparison for a week’s worth of groceries. Scroll to the end to see the final verdict!
Is Food Depot cheaper than Walmart?
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 Cheese & Toast
- Vanilla Yogurt with Strawberries and Leftover Pineapple
- French Toast with Syrup & Bananas
- Peanut Butter Toast with Bananas
Lunches
- Salad with Leftover Parmesan Chicken
- Pasta Salad with Hard Boiled Eggs and Tomato, Cucumber, and Parmesan Cheese
- Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
- BLT Sandwiches with Side Salad
- Dinner Leftovers
Dinners
- Orange Chicken with Pineapple over Brown Rice
- Sloppy Joe on French Bread with Cheese and Canned Corn
- Kielbasa, Potatoes and Green Beans in the Crockpot
- Tex Mex Pizza with Taco meat, Refried Beans, Salsa, and Cheese
- Parmesan Crusted Chicken, Butter Pasta, and Broccoli
- Breakfast for Dinner: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Bacon, Fried Potatoes, and Sauteed Apples
Snacks
- Chips and Salsa
- Peanut Butter and Apples
- Yogurt Bites
Sweet Treat
- Homemade Orange Popsicles
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Dublin, Georgia. 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 #7“
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Food Depot Price | Walmart Price |
| Strawberries | 16oz container= $5.99 | 16oz container= $4.88 |
| 6 Bananas | $0.35 each= $2.10 | $0.27 each= $1.62 |
| Lettuce | 1 head iceberg=$4.99 | 1 head iceberg=$1.98 |
| Tomato x2 | 2 pack= $3.39 | Slicing Tomato $1.36 each= $2.72 |
| Cucumber | $0.79 each | $0.63 each |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag of white potatoes= $3.69 | 5lb bag of russets= $3.14 *on sale* |
| Apples | 3lb bag of Paula red = $3.79 | 3lb bag of granny smith= $3.98 |
| Total: (7 items) | $24.74 | $18.95 |
In the produce section, Walmart came out cheaper with a total of $18.95. This was $5.79 cheaper than Food Depot’s total of $24.74.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Food Depot Price | Walmart Price |
| Bacon | Sugardale 12oz pack= $3.33 | Great Value 12oz pack= $3.58 |
| 4-6 Chicken Breasts | 2 (1.75lb bags) Raw Frozen Chicken Breasts $6.76 x 2= $13.52 | $2.94 a lb (5.02lbs) = $15.02 |
| Kielbasa Sausage | Carolina Pride 14oz pack= $2.96 | Smithfield 13oz pack= $3.28 |
| 1 lb ground turkey | Butterball 1lb roll= $2.42 | Festive 1lb roll= $2.54 |
| Total: (4 items) | $22.23 | $24.42 |
In the meat section, Food Depot came out cheaper with a total of $22.23. This was $2.19 cheaper than Walmart’s total of $24.42.
It is worth noting that we did get almost 1.5 pounds more chicken breasts at Walmart, so even though it was more expensive, it was the better value.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Food Depot Price | Walmart Price |
| Sandwich Bread | Food Depot 20oz white bread= $1.35 | Great Value 20oz white bread= $1.00 |
| Canned Pineapple | Del Monte 15.25oz can= $1.45 | Great Value 20 oz can= $1.28 |
| Pancake Syrup | Pampa 24oz bottle= $1.39 | Pearl Milling 8oz bottle= $1.32 |
| French Bread Loaf | Sourdough bread loaf= $2.07 | 14oz loaf= $1.47 |
| Cinnamon | Badia .5oz bag= $0.69 | Great Value 2.5oz jar= $1.18 |
| Peanut Butter | Jif 15.5oz jar= $2.60 | Great Value 18oz jar= $1.74 |
| Italian Dressing | Pampa 16oz bottle= $1.33 | Great Value 16oz bottle= $1.97 |
| Pasta | Essential Everyday 16oz macaroni= $1.43 | Great Value 16oz rotini= $0.92 |
| Large can Tomato Soup | Essential Everyday 10.75oz can x2= $1.00 *on sale* | Great Value 26oz can= $1.64 |
| Canned Tomatoes | Essential Everyday 15oz can= $1.14 | Great Value 14.5oz can= $0.88 |
| Orange Marmalade | Essential Everyday 18oz jar= $2.33 | Great Value 18oz jar= $2.32 |
| BBQ Sauce | Pampa 18oz bottle= $1.30 | Great Value 18oz bottle= $1.48 |
| Soy Sauce | Pampa 10oz bottle= $1.08 | Great Value 15oz bottle= $1.58 |
| Brown Rice | China Doll 1lb bag= $1.49 | Great Value 1lb bag= $0.88 |
| Canned Green Beans | Essential Everyday 14.5oz can= $0.50 *on sale* | Great Value 14.5oz can= $0.50 *on sale* |
| Taco Seasoning | Spice Time 1.25oz pack= $0.34 | Great Value 1oz pack= $0.48 |
| Refried Beans | Isadora 15.2oz container= $0.98 *on sale* | Great Value 16oz can= $1.00 |
| Salsa | Herdez 16oz bottle= $2.42 | Great Value 24oz jar= $2.24 |
| Worcestershire Sauce | Pampa 10oz bottle= $1.08 | Great Value 10oz bottle= $1.00 |
| Mustard | Essential Everyday 8oz bottle= $1.13 | Great Value 20oz bottle= $1.00 |
| Canned Corn | Essential Everyday 15.25oz can= $0.50 *on sale* | Great Value 14.5 oz can= $0.50 *on sale* |
| Mayonnaise | McCormick 7oz jar= $2.63 | Great Value 15oz jar= $2.36 |
| All Purpose Flour | Essential Everyday 2lb bag= $1.66 | Great Value 2lb bag= $1.16 |
| Dry Active Yeast | Fleishmann’s 3pack= $1.07 *on sale* | Great Value 3pack= $0.86 |
| Total: (24 items) | $32.96 | $30.76 |
In the dry goods section, Walmart came out cheaper with a total of $30.76. This was $2.20 cheaper than Food Depot’s total of $32.96.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Food Depot Price | Walmart Price |
| Frozen Broccoli | Bird’s Eye 10.8oz bag= $1.08 *on sale* | Great Value 12oz bag= $0.98 |
| Total: (1 items) | $1.08 | $0.98 |
In the frozen section, Walmart came out cheaper with a total of $0.98. This was $0.10 cheaper than Food Depot’s total of $1.08.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Food Depot Price | Walmart Price |
| Eggs | Pete & Jerry’s 12ct brown= $3.99 *on sale* | Great Value 12ct white=$4.07 |
| Shredded Cheddar Cheese | Dutch Farms 8 oz bag= $2.05 | Great Value 8oz bag= $2.22 |
| Vanilla Yogurt | Yoplait 32oz container= $2.35 | Great Value 32oz container= $2.36 |
| American Cheese | Essential Everyday 16ct= $2.86 | Great Value 24ct= $2.48 |
| Parmesan Cheese | Dutch Farms 6oz= $2.05 | Great Value 6oz= $2.22 |
| 2% milk | Essential Everyday gallon= $3.69 *on sale* | Great Value gallon= $3.24 |
| Butter | Essential Everyday 1lb= $2.69 *on sale* | Great Value 1lb= $4.48 |
| Total: (7 items) | $19.68 | $21.07 |
In the dairy section, Food Depot came out cheaper with a total of $19.68. This was $1.39 cheaper than Walmart’s total of $21.07.
Is Walmart less expensive than Food Depot?
Walmart was cheaper in most sections except for meat and dairy. Let’s look at the overall totals.
| Section | Food Depot Price | Walmart Price |
| Produce | $24.74 | $18.95 |
| Deli/Meats | $22.23 | $24.42 |
| Dry Goods | $32.96 | $30.76 |
| Frozen Foods | $1.08 | $0.98 |
| Dairy | $19.68 | $21.07 |
| Overall Total: (43 items) | $100.69 | $96.18 |
Overall, Walmart was cheaper than Food Depot with a total of $96.18. This was $4.51 (about 4.4%) cheaper than Food Depot’s total of $100.69.
This was a very close race! In face it was so close in a lot of different sections, that if I had time, I would shop at both locations.
Thankfully, Walmart has an app that you can look up prices at any location. I would use this by doing price comparisons in store with Food Depot. They do put out a regular sales flyer each week, but they also have some good in store deals.
I would take my list to Food Depot and price check as I went along the list. If it was cheaper at Walmart, I would then pick those items up separately at another time.
If you don’t have the time to go to both stores, it looks like you would spend less by shopping at Walmart for everything on your list.
For more grocery store price comparisons, check out “Food Depot vs Kroger: Who is Cheaper?” and “Sprouts vs Walmart: Who is Cheaper for Groceries?“
