Food Lion vs Kroger: Who is Cheaper?
I recently had a request to compare Food Lion and Kroger in Chesapeake, Virginia. The sweet lady was convinced that the prices were pretty comparable at both locations.
We accepted the challenge to compare Kroger and Food Lion grocery prices to see who would be cheaper. Skip to the end for the final verdict!
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Is Kroger more expensive than Food Lion?
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 Chesapeake, Virginia. 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 | Kroger Price |
| 6 Bananas | $0.49 a lb = $1.17 | $0.55 a lb = $1.32 |
| Gala Apples | 3 lb bag= $4.49 | 3lb bag – $4.99 |
| Spinach | Dole 6oz bag- $3.29 | Kroger 10oz bag- $2.69 |
| Whole Carrots | $0.69 a lb = $0.69 | $1.29 a lb = $1.29 |
| Celery | 1 stalk= 1.29 *on sale* | 1 stalk= $1.79 |
| Potatoes | Russet 5lb bag- $3.29 | Russet 5lb bag- $2.99 |
| Tomato | $1.79 a lb=$0.89 *on sale* | $2.29 a lb = $1.29 |
| Cucumber | $0.89 each *on sale* | $0.69 each= $0.69 |
| Total: (8 items) | $16.00 | $17.05 |
We are starting off with a pretty close race, Food Lion was cheaper at $16.00 versus Kroger at $17.05. The difference being $1.05.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Food Lion Price | Kroger Price |
| Bacon | Food Lion 16oz $4.48 *on sale* | Kroger 16oz -$4.69 |
| Ground Beef (1lb) | Food Lion 85% fresh – $3.99 *on sale* | Kroger 73/27 Roll $4.59 |
| Chicken Breasts (4-6 needed) | Food Lion $2.49 a lb, 4.5lbs – $11.20 | Heritage Farm $2.49 a lb, 4.5lbs – $11.20 |
| Diced Ham | John Morrell 8oz pack – $3.29 | Kroger 8oz pack – $1.99 |
| Pepperoni | Food Lion 6oz – $2.48 | Kroger 6oz – $2.59 |
| Total: (5 items) | $25.44 | $25.06 |
This was so close! Kroger squeaked out a tiny bit cheaper at $25.06 versus Food lion being $25.44. Total difference was only $0.38.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Food Lion Price | Kroger Price |
| Flour Tortillas | Mission Street 10 ct Tortillas – $2.29 | Mission Street 10ct Tortillas – $1.99 *on sale* |
| Loaf bread | Cha-Ching White Bread 20oz $1.09 | Kroger White Bread 20oz – $1.33 *on sale* |
| Peanut Butter | Cha-Ching16.3oz jar- $1.79 | Kroger 16oz jar- $1.50 *on sale* |
| Oatmeal | Food Lion 18oz container- $2.19 | Kroger 18oz container- $1.99 |
| Brown Sugar | Food Lion 16oz – $1.69 | Domino 16oz – $1.39 |
| Garbanzo beans (canned) | Food Lion 15.5 oz can – $0.84 | Kroger 15.5oz can – $0.79 |
| Mayonnaise | Food Lion 16oz – $2.39 | Kroger 15oz – $2.89 *on sale* |
| Soy Sauce | Kikkoman 5oz- $1.59 | Kroger 10oz – $1.59 |
| Hoisin Sauce | Dynasty 7oz – $2.99 | Kikkoman 9.4oz – $3.09 |
| Sesame Oil | Kikkoman 5oz – $3.79 | Dynasty 5oz – $3.29 |
| Spaghetti Noodles | Food Lion 16oz – $0.96 | Kroger 16oz – $1.33 |
| All Purpose Flour | Food Lion 2lb bag- $1.49 | Kroger 2lb bag- $1.69 |
| Cream of Chicken Soup | Food Lion 10.5 oz can – $0.99 | Kroger 10.5oz can – $0.99 |
| Chicken Bouillon Cubes | Knorr 3.1oz box- $1.09 | Knorr 3.1oz box – $1.00 |
| Dry Active Yeast (need 2) | Food Lion 3ct- $1.69 | Kroger 3ct- $1.19 |
| White Rice | Food Lion 1lb bag – $0.99 | Kroger 2lb bag- $1.59 |
| Black Beans (canned) | Food Lion 15.5oz $0.84 | Kroger 15.25 oz can – $0.79 |
| Powdered Sugar | Food Lion 16oz bag- $1.69 | Kroger 32oz – $1.89 |
| Total: (19 items) | $30.39 | $30.32 |
I don’t think it can get any closer than this! Kroger came in at $30.32 versus Food lion with $20.39. That is a super tiny difference of $0.07. Technically we did end up getting more soy sauce, hoisin sauce, white rice and powdered sugar at Kroger though.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Food Lion Price | Kroger Price |
| Frozen Broccoli | Food Lion 12oz bag- $1.39 | Kroger 12oz bag- $1.39 |
| Frozen Mixed Vegetables | Food Lion 16oz bag- $1.69 | Kroger 12oz bag – $1.00 |
| Pie Crust | Food Lion Deep Dish 2-pack – $2.38 | Kroger 2 pack- $2.79 |
| Total: (3 items) | $5.46 | $5.18 |
Another super close total with Kroger coming out cheaper with $5.18 compared to Food Lion at $5.46. That is a total difference of $0.28.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Food Lion Price | Kroger Price |
| Eggs | Food Lion Large White 12ct – $1.59 | Kroger large white 12ct- $1.75 |
| Shredded Cheddar Cheese | Food Lion 16oz bag- $3.79 | Kroger 16oz bag- $3.99 |
| Shredded Mozzarella Cheese | Food Lion 16oz bag- $3.79 | Kroger 16oz bag- $3.99 |
| Milk | Food Lion 2% gallon – $4.09 | Kroger 2% gallon- $3.28 |
| Total: (3 items) | $13.26 | $13.01 |
This is crazy how close each section is in price. Kroger was barely cheaper at $13.01 versus Food Lion at $13.26. A total difference of only $0.25.
Is Food Lion more expensive than Kroger?
In each section we were so close, that it was anyone’s guess who would be the cheapest overall.
| Section | Food Lion Price | Kroger Price |
| Produce | $16.00 | $17.05 |
| Deli/Meats | $25.44 | $25.06 |
| Dry Goods | $30.39 | $30.32 |
| Frozen Foods | $5.46 | $5.18 |
| Dairy | $13.26 | $13.01 |
| Overall Total: (38 items) | $90.55 | $90.62 |
Food Lion was cheaper than Kroger with a total of $90.55 which was $0.07 cheaper than Kroger at $90.62. Turns out my friend was right, that the prices at Kroger and Food Lion were extremely similar.
There was less than a 1% savings with these two stores. This means picking between them may need to be based on location and food quality.
If these are the two grocery shopping options in my town, I would focus very hard on the sales flyer every week. Whichever store was having the best sale is who I would shop for groceries.
If I had the time, I would actually make 2 lists, one for each store and just buying what was on sale to maximize my grocery budget!
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 “HEB vs Walmart: Who is Cheaper for Groceries?” and “Is Ingles cheaper than Food Lion?“
