Piggly Wiggly vs Food Lion: Who is Cheaper for Groceries?
Saving money at the grocery store seems impossible, but by doing some price comparing at our local stores, we can save a ton of money on our grocery budget.
Today we will do a side-by-side comparison of Piggly Wiggly and Food Lion with one week’s worth of groceries. We will determine if one store is cheaper than the other, and if it is worth going to both stores to shop each week.
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Is Piggly Wiggly cheaper 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
- Bagels & Cream Cheese with Bananas
- Breakfast Casserole with sausage, hashbrowns, and cheddar cheese
- Hard Boiled Egg, Toast, and Orange Slices
- Scrambled Egg and Veggies (peppers, tomato, and mushrooms) Tortillas and Cinnamon Apples
Lunches
- Rice & Bean Burritos & Apple Slices
- Buffalo Chicken Dip (made with leftover chicken from leg quarters) with Carrots and Celery
- Leftover Pasta Bake & Salad
- Leftover Soup with Bread
- Homemade Hummus and Saltines
Dinners
- Fajita Chicken Breasts with Tortillas, Yellow Rice, & Refried Beans
- Pineapple Brown Sugar Pork Chops with Roasted Potatoes and Broccoli
- Cheesy Ground Turkey Potato Boats with Sauteed Cabbage
- Roasted Chicken Quarters with Mushroom Pasta and Green Beans
- Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Pasta Bake with Side Salad with Chickpeas & Tomato
- Ground Turkey & Vegetable Soup with Grilled Cheese
Snacks
- Carrots and Celery
- Orange Slices
- Hummus & Crackers
- Pineapple Chunks
- Apples
Sweet Treat
- Cinnamon Sugar Donut Holes
For this price comparison, I am using prices available in Columbia, South Carolina. 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 Week #10 (Kid-Friendly, Healthy, & on a Budget)“
Produce Section
This is all the fresh vegetables and fruits we need for the week.
| Item | Piggly Wiggly Price | Food Lion Price |
| Bananas x5 | $0.69 a lb (2.5lb)=$1.72 | $0.59 a lb (2.5lb)=$1.48 |
| Onions x2 | 1 pound= $1.69 | 1 pound= $1.19 |
| Oranges | 3lb Naval Oranges= $4.50 | 3lb bag of Naval Oranges= $2.99 *on sale* |
| Bell Peppers x2 | $0.88 each= $1.76 *on sale* | $0.79 each= $1.58 |
| Mushrooms | 8oz whole= $2.39 | 8oz whole= $1.89 |
| Apples | 3lb bag of Jonagold apples= $4.99 | 3lb bag of fuji apples= $4.99 |
| Carrots | 1 lb bag= $1.25 | 1 lb bag= $0.69 |
| Celery | 1 bunch= $1.99 | 1 bunch= $1.19 |
| Potatoes | 5lb bag of Russets= $3.40 *on sale* | 5lb bag of red potatoes= $3.99 *on sale* |
| Cabbage | $0.68 a lb (2.5lbs)= $1.70 *on sale* | $0.69 a lb (2.5lbs)= $1.73 *on sale* |
| Lettuce | 1 head iceberg= $1.99 | 1 head iceberg= $1.69 |
| Tomato | Large= $1.43 *on sale* | large= $1.49 |
| Total: (12 items) | $28.81 | $24.90 |
In the produce section, Food Lion came out cheaper with a total of $24.90. This was $3.91 cheaper than Piggly Wiggly’s total of $28.81.
Deli/Meats
This is all the meats that we will need from the deli and meat counter.
| Item | Piggly Wiggly Price | Food Lion Price |
| Breakfast Sausage | Johnsonville 1lb links= $3.99 *on sale* | Food Lion 12oz links= $2.78 |
| Chicken Breasts (4-5 needed) | $1.99 a lb (1.5lbs)= $2.98 | $1.99 a lb (1.5lbs)= $2.98 *on sale* |
| Chicken Quarters (need 2-3) | $1.79 a lb fresh (5lbs)= $8.95 | Gold Leaf 10lb bag frozen= $5.90 *on sale* |
| Pork Chops (need 4) | Center Cut $2.49 a lb (1.9lbs)= $4.73 | Boneless Ribeye Chops $2.99 a lb (1.9lbs)= $5.12 |
| Ground Turkey | Butterball 1lb fresh= $5.99 | Butterball 1lb roll= $3.79 |
| Total: (5 items) | $26.64 | $20.57 |
In the meat section, Food Lion came out cheaper with a total of $20.57. This was $6.07 cheaper than Piggly Wiggly’s total of $26.64.
It is worth noting that at Food Lion we got a little less breakfast sausage, but we also go twice as much leg quarters.
Dry Goods
This is all the dry goods and shelf stable items that we need for our meal plan.
| Item | Piggly Wiggly Price | Food Lion Price |
| Bagels | Piggly Wiggly 6ct= $2.29 | Lender’s 6ct= $3.49 |
| Baking Mix | Bisquick 20oz box= $3.99 | Food Lion 40oz box= $4.19 |
| Sandwich Bread | Sara Lee 20oz white= $2.89 | Cha-Ching 20oz white= $1.89 |
| Cinnamon | McCormick Cinnamon Sugar 4oz jar= $3.19 | Badia 2oz jar= $2.89 |
| White Sugar | Piggly Wiggly 2lb bag= $1.99 | Food Lion 2lb bag= $2.29 |
| Tortillas | Chi-Chi’s 8ct= $2.49 | Mission 12ct= $2.00 *on sale* |
| Yellow Rice | Vigo 8oz bag= $1.59 | Mahatma 5oz bag= $1.19 |
| Refried Beans | Bush’s 16oz can= $1.79 | Food Lion 16oz can= $ 1.79 |
| Hot Sauce | Piggly Wiggly 6oz bottle= $1.00 *on sale* | Food Lion 6oz bottle= $0.94 |
| Ranch Dressing | That’s Smart 16oz bottle= $2.19 | Cha Ching 16oz bottle= $1.59 |
| Canned Chickpeas | Bush’s 16oz can= $1.49 | Food Lion 15.5oz can= $0.84 |
| Saltine Crackers | Nabisco 16oz box= $3.50 *on sale* | Cha Ching 16oz box= $1.39 |
| Canned Pineapple | Piggly Wiggly 20oz can= $1.79 | Food Lion 20oz can= $1.38 |
| Brown Sugar | D C Lite 1lb= $1.69 | Food Lion 1lb bag= $1.99 |
| Dry Pasta (Penne) | Ronzoni 16oz box= $1.19 | Food Lion 16oz box= $0.98 |
| Canned Green Beans | Piggly Wiggly 16oz can= $1.25 | Food Lion 16oz can= $1.25 |
| Total: (16 items) | $34.32 | $30.09 |
In the dry goods section, Food Lion came out cheaper with a total of $30.09. This was $4.23 cheaper than Piggly Wiggly’s total of $34.32.
Frozen Foods
These are the frozen items needed for this week’s meal plan.
| Item | Piggly Wiggly Price | Food Lion Price |
| Frozen Hash Browns | Simple Potatoes 0oz bag= $3.59 | Food Lion 30oz bag= $2.99 |
| Frozen Broccoli | Bird’s Eye 11oz bag= $2.50 *on sale* | Food Lion 16oz bag= $1.69 |
| Total: (2 items) | $6.09 | $4.68 |
In the frozen section, Food Lion came out cheaper with a total of $4.68. This was $1.41 cheaper than Piggly Wiggly’s total of $6.09.
Dairy Section
These are all the dairy items needed like milk and cheeses.
| Item | Piggly Wiggly Price | Food Lion Price |
| Cream Cheese (two 8oz blocks) | Piggly Wiggly 8oz blocks $2.50 each= $5.00 *on sale* | Food Lion 8oz block $1.79 each= $3.58 |
| Cheddar Cheese (16oz) | Piggly Wiggly 8oz shredded $2.33 each= $4.66 *on sale* | Food Lion 16oz shredded= $3.99 |
| Eggs | Piggly Wiggly 12ct white large= $3.99 | Food Lion 12ct white large= $2.39 |
| Milk | Piggly Wiggly gallon= $3.19 | Food Lion gallon= $3.19 |
| Sliced Cheese | Borden 10ct= $1.89 *on sale* | Food Lion 10ct= $2.00 *on sale* |
| Total: (5 items) | $18.73 | $15.15 |
In the dairy section, Food Lion came out cheaper with a total of $15.15. This was $3.58 cheaper than Piggly Wiggly’s total of $18.73.
Is Food Lion more expensive than Piggly Wiggly?
Food Lion came out cheaper across all sections, but let’s look at the overall totals.
| Section | Piggly Wiggly Price | Food Lion Price |
| Produce | $28.81 | $24.90 |
| Deli/Meats | $26.64 | $20.57 |
| Dry Goods | $34.32 | $30.09 |
| Frozen Foods | $6.09 | $4.68 |
| Dairy | $18.73 | $15.15 |
| Overall Total: (40 items) | $114.59 | $95.39 |
Overall, Food Lion was cheaper than Piggly Wiggly with a total of $95.39. This was $19.20 (about 17%) cheaper than Piggly Wiggly’s total of $114.59.
If I had to choose between Food Lion and Piggly Wiggly, I would choose to do all my shopping at Food Lion because the had the majority of the best prices.
When I split my list between the two stores and only purchased the cheaper items, my total came out to $92.21. The extra $3.18 savings would probably not cover the cost to go to both stores.
Now if we had looked at the sales flyer while meal planning, and utilized each store’s additional offers, we could have easily lowered this shopping trip even more!
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.
Piggly Wiggly also offers digital coupons and “Pig Points” that you can redeem for money off your next purchase. This program is only in certain stores so far so double check your location.
For more grocery store comparisons, check out “
