Is Walmart or Food Lion cheaper for groceries?
Food Lion is a grocery store in some Eastern states of the US like Virigina, Delaware, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Walmart is currently available in every state in the US to go grocery shopping.
For this price comparison, we are going to pit Food Loin and Walmart against each other to see which one has the cheapest groceries. Skip to the end to see the final verdict!
Any links to products or services, may be affiliate links. When you click on a link, we may receive compensation at no additional cost to you. This helps to run and maintain the site, as well as getting more information available to you at no cost.
Is Food Lion more expensive 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
- 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 Milford, Delaware. 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 | Walmart Price |
| 6 Bananas | $0.55 a lb = $1.32 | $0.53 a lb = $1.26 |
| Gala Apples | 3 lb bag= $4.49 | 3lb bag- $4.30 |
| Spinach | Fresh Express 8oz bag- $3.29 | Marketside 10 oz bag- $2.18 |
| Whole Carrots | $0.69 a lb = $0.69 | 16oz bag- $0.98 |
| Celery | 1 stalk= 1.29 *on sale* | 1 stalk – $2.36 |
| Potatoes | Russet 5lb bag- $3.79 | 5 lb bag Russet – $3.97 |
| Tomato | $1.79 a lb=$0.82 *on sale* | $1.98 a lb =$0.91 |
| Cucumber | $0.89 each | $0.73 each |
| Total: (8 items) | $16.58 | $16.69 |
Wow! This was super close! Food Lion was 0.11 cheaper at $16.58 compared to Walmart at $16.69.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Food Lion Price | Walmart Price |
| Bacon | Food Lion 16oz $4.49 *on sale* | Great Value 16oz $4.48 |
| Ground Beef (1lb) | Food Lion 73% fresh – $4.79 | Great Value 73% Fresh – $4.92 |
| Chicken Breasts (4-6 needed) | Food Lion $2.29 a lb, 3lbs – $6.87 | Perdue $3.18 a lb, 3lbs $9.54 |
| Diced Ham | Smithfield 16oz pack- $5.99 | Farmland Diced Ham 16 oz – $5.18 |
| Pepperoni | Food Lion 6oz – $2.48 | Great Value 6oz – $2.58 |
| Total: (5 items) | $24.62 | $26.70 |
Food Lion definitely came out cheaper with $24.62 compared to Walmart’s $26.70, making Food Lion $2.08 cheaper.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Food Lion Price | Walmart Price |
| Flour Tortillas | Mission Street 10 ct Tortillas – $2.29 | Great Value Flour Tortillas 10ct – $1.98 |
| Loaf bread | Cha-Ching White Bread 20oz $1.09 | Great Value White Bread 20oz- $1.00 |
| Peanut Butter | Food Lion 16.3 oz jar- $2.18 | Great Value 18oz jar- $1.74 |
| Oatmeal | Food Lion 18oz container- $2.19 | Great Value Quick Oats 18oz container- $2.48 |
| Brown Sugar | Food Lion 16oz – $1.69 | Great Value Brown Sugar 32oz – $1.70 |
| Garbanzo beans (canned) | Food Lion 15.5 oz can – $0.84 | Great Value 15.5 oz can – $0.78 |
| Mayonnaise | Food Lion 16oz – $2.39 | Great Value Mayonnaise 18oz – $2.48 |
| Soy Sauce | Kikkoman 5oz- $1.39 | Great Value 15oz – $1.58 |
| Hoisin Sauce | Dynasty 7oz – $2.99 | Kikkoman 13.2 oz – $3.67 |
| Sesame Oil | Kikkoman 5oz – $3.79 | Imperial Dragon 5oz – $3.22 |
| Spaghetti Noodles | Food Lion 16oz – $0.98 | Great Value 16oz box – $0.92 |
| All Purpose Flour | Food Lion 2lb bag- $1.49 | Great Value 2lb bag- $1.16 |
| Cream of Chicken Soup | Food Lion 10.5 oz can – $0.99 | Great Value 10.5oz can – $0.58 |
| Chicken Bouillon Cubes | Knorr 3.1oz box- $1.09 | Wyler’s 3.25oz jar- $2.00 |
| Active Dry Yeast (need 2) | Food Lion 3ct- $1.69 | Great Value 3 ct- $0.86 |
| White Rice | Food Lion 16oz bag – $0.99 | Great Value 16oz bag- $0.76 |
| Black Beans (canned) | Food Lion 15.5oz $0.84 | Great Value 15oz can – $0.78 |
| Powdered Sugar | Food Lion 16oz bag- $1.69 | Great Value 2 lb bag- $1.70 |
| Total: (19 items) | $30.60 | $29.39 |
This time Walmart squeaks out a win with $29.39 which was $1.21 cheaper than Food Lion at $30.60.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Food Lion Price | Walmart Price |
| Frozen Broccoli | Food Lion 12oz bag- $1.38 | Great Value Florets 12oz bag- $0.98 |
| Frozen Mixed Vegetables | Food Lion 16oz bag- $1.69 | Great Value 12oz bag – $0.84 |
| Pie Crust | Food Lion Deep Dish 2-pack – $2.38 | Great Value 9inch 2ct- $1.56 |
| Total: (3 items) | $4.18 | $3.82 |
Walmart manages another win with $3.82 which was $2.07 cheaper than Food Lion at $4.18.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Food Lion Price | Walmart Price |
| Eggs | Food Lion Large White 12ct – $2.59 | Great Value 12ct large white eggs $2.82 |
| Shredded Cheddar Cheese | Food Lion 8oz bag- $2.19 | Great Value 8 oz bag – $1.98 |
| Shredded Mozzarella Cheese | Food Lion 8oz bag- $2.19 | Great Value 8 oz bag – $1.98 |
| Milk | Food Lion 2% gallon – $4.09 | Great Value 2% gallon – $3.43 |
| Total: (3 items) | $11.06 | $10.21 |
Another tight race, but Walmart won with $10.21 which was $0.85 cheaper than Food Lion at $11.06.
Is Walmart cheaper than Food Lion?
It was so neck and neck for most sections, so this is bound to be a close final total too!
| Section | Food Lion Price | Walmart Prices |
| Produce | $16.58 | $16.69 |
| Deli/Meats | $24.62 | $26.70 |
| Dry Goods | $30.60 | $29.39 |
| Frozen Foods | $5.45 | $3.38 |
| Dairy | $11.06 | $10.21 |
| Overall Total: (38 items) | $88.31 | $86.37 |
Wow! Walmart was the cheaper option for groceries for a total of $86.37. This beat Food Lion by $1.94 which came out to a savings of 2%.
Definitely a close race, but when you consider there were some items that were on sale at Food Lion compared to regular prices at Walmart. This means in general shopping at Walmart may be an even bigger savings if items are not on sale at Food Lion.
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 tips and tricks for saving money at the grocery store, check out “What Meat is the Cheapest?” and “How to Save Money on Juice.”
