Foodland vs Safeway: Who is Cheaper?
Foodland is a regional grocery store chain with 32 stores in Hawaii. Safeway is part of a very large grocery store chain with about 904 stores in 17 states.
We are going to take a weeklong meal plan with grocery list, and price compare Foodland and Safeway to determine who has cheaper prices for groceries. Scroll to the end to see the final results!
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Is Foodland or Safeway cheaper?
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 Honolulu, Hawaii. 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 | Foodland Price | Safeway Price |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag of Russet Potatoes= $5.99 *on sale* | 5lb bag of Russet Potatoes= $5.99 |
| Apples | 3lb bag of gala apples= $6.99 *on sale* | 3lb bag of gala apples= $5.99 |
| Carrots | 1lb bag= $1.49 *on sale* | 1lb bag= $1.99 |
| Lettuce | 1 head Red Romaine lettuce= $1.49 *on sale* | 1 head Green Romaine lettuce= $2.99 *on sale* |
| Tomato | 1 local tomato= $0.75 each | On the Vine= $1.32 each |
| Cucumber | $1.01 each *on sale* | $1.15 each |
| Total: (6 items) | $17.72 | $19.43 |
In the produce section, Foodland was cheaper with a total of $17.72. This was $1.71 cheaper than Safeway’s total of $19.43.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Foodland Price | Safeway Price |
| Chicken Breasts (4-6 needed) | Tyson Frozen Chicken Breasts 2.5lb = $12.29 *on sale* | Safeway $6.99 a lb. (2lbs) = $13.98 |
| 2lbs ground turkey | Norbest Turkey 1lb fresh $5.99 a lb (2lbs)= $11.98 | Jennie-O 1lb roll $ 3.50 x2 = $7.00 *on sale* |
| Total: (2 items) | $24.27 | $20.98 |
In the meat section, Safeway came out cheaper with a total of $20.98. This was $3.29 cheaper than Foodland’s total of $24.27.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Foodland Price | Safeway Price |
| Loaf of Bread | Hearth & Harvest 22oz bread= $4.29 *on sale* | Signature Select 22oz bread= $2.49 *on sale* |
| Pancake Syrup | Pearl Milling 12oz bottle= $4.29 *on sale* | Log Cabin 24oz bottle= $4.99 *on sale* |
| Quick Oats | Mom’s Best Oats 16oz container= $3.00 *on sale* | Malt O Meal 16oz container= $2.99 |
| Tortilla Chips | Late July 7.8oz bag= $3.29 *on sale* | Sinaloa Hawaii 8oz bag= $4.29 *on sale* |
| White Beans (canned) | Strianese Cannellini beans 14oz can= $3.99 | O Organics Great Northen beans 15oz can= $2.19 |
| Canned Tuna | Chicken of Sea 5oz can = $1.25 *on sale* | Chicken of Sea 5oz can = $1.50 *on sale* |
| White Rice | Hinode 2lb bag= $2.99 *on sale* | Signature Select 2lb bag= $3.49 |
| Soy Sauce | Aloha Soy sauce 6oz bottle= $3.39 *on sale* | Signature Select 10oz bottle= $2.79 |
| Brown Sugar | C&H 1lb box= $2.59 *on sale* | Swerve Brown sugar replacement 12oz bag= $7.49 *on sale* |
| Ranch Dressing | Kraft 8oz bottle= $2.59 *on sale* | Litehouse 8oz bottle= $3.49 |
| Chicken Boullion | Knorr 8ct= $1.79 | Knorr 8ct= $1.49 *on sale* |
| Pasta | Barilla 16oz elbows= $2.79 *on sale* | Pagasa 7oz bag= $0.99 |
| Hamburger Buns | Bakery 8ct= $3.49 *on sale* | Ball Park 8ct= $3.99 *on sale* |
| Black beans (canned) | La Costena 19.75 oz can= $1.99 | Bush’s 15oz can= $1.50 *on sale* |
| Taco seasoning | Old El Paso 1oz pack= $1.50 *on sale* | Signature Select 1oz pack= $1.25 *on sale* |
| Canned tomatoes (rotel style with chiles or peppers) | Del Monte 14.5 oz can= $2.00 *on sale* | Signature Select 14.5oz can= $2.29 |
| Total: (16 items) | $45.23 | $47.22 |
In the dry goods section, Foodland came out cheaper with a total of $45.23. This was $1.99 cheaper than Safeway’s total of $47.22.
It is worth noting that Safeway would have been cheaper if they had regular brown sugar in stock instead of a brown sugar substitute.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Foodland Price | Safeway Price |
| Frozen Broccoli | Green Giant 10oz bag= $2.50 *on sale* | Bird’s Eye 10.8oz bag= $2.99 *on sale* |
| Creamed Spinach | Bird’s Eye 10oz box= $2.50 *on sale* | Green Giant 10oz box= $2.75 *on sale* |
| Frozen Mixed vegetables | Maika’i 10oz bag= $3.00 *on sale* | Flav R Pac 10oz bag= $2.50 *on sale* |
| Vanilla Ice Cream | Meadow Gold 48oz container= $5.69 *on sale* | Edy’s 1.5qt container= $5.99 *on sale* |
| Total: (4 items) | $13.69 | $14.23 |
In the frozen section, Foodland came out cheaper with a total of $13.69. This was $0.54 cheaper than Safeway’s total of $14.23.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Foodland Price | Safeway Price |
| Eggs | Shaka Moa 12ct medium brown eggs= $6.49 | Ka Lei Island 12ct large white eggs= $5.99 |
| 2% milk | Sun hearth gallon= $7.49 *on sale* | Lucerne gallon= $7.49 |
| Cheddar Cheese Slices | Cracker Barrel 8 ct= $4.50 *on sale* | O Organics 6oz = $4.79 |
| Shredded Cheddar Cheese | Kraft 8oz bag= $4.50 *on sale* | Lucerne 8oz bag= $4.99 *on sale* |
| Shredded Mozzarella Cheese | Kraft 8oz bag= $4.50 *on sale* | Lucerne 8oz bag= $4.99 *on sale* |
| Total: (5 items) | $27.48 | $28.25 |
In the dairy section, Foodland came out cheaper with a total of $27.48. This was $0.77 cheaper than Safeway’s total of $28.25.
Is Foodland more expensive than Safeway?
Foodland came out cheaper for most sections, but let’s look at the overall totals.
| Section | Foodland Price | Safeway Price |
| Produce | $17.72 | $19.43 |
| Deli/Meats | $24.27 | $20.98 |
| Dry Goods | $45.23 | $47.22 |
| Frozen Foods | $13.69 | $14.23 |
| Dairy | $27.48 | $28.25 |
| Overall Total: (32 items) | $128.39 | $130.11 |
Overall Foodland came out cheaper than Safeway with a total of $128.39. This was $1.72 (about 1%) cheaper than Safeway’s total of $130.11.
It is worth noting that if Safeway had brown sugar in stock, then the reverse would be true that Safeway was actually the cheaper option.
Since both of these grocery stores are pretty close in food prices, it is especially important to shop the weekly sales. If you were to meal plan around what is on sale, you could potentially save a lot of money on your month grocery budget!
Safeway does have weekly ads, and you can use them to help you meal plan for maximum savings. For more savings at Safeway, check out their FreshPass. They are currently offering a 30-day free trial!
For more grocery store price comparisons, check out “Aldi vs Giant Food Stores: Who is Cheaper?” and “Harris Teeter vs Publix: Who is Cheaper?“
