Grocery prices continue to rise for many Americans. Federal food assistance programs are pleading their case with a hostile administration. Food banks across the country are trying to keep up.
Households, caught in the crosshairs of political and economic decisions by federal leaders, are trying to cut costs where they can and still feed themselves and their families balanced, whole meals.
How do they do that? Some strategic decision making, online deal hunting, and, as always, help from their communities.
Know your grocery stores
While the cost of groceries has increased across the board — soaring more than 29 percent since 2020 — prices and access still vary based on a shopper’s location. States and counties may see their own price disparities, while households that shop in-person versus through delivery services are seeing a widening gap on receipts. Areas that have been left without major grocers, often referred to as food deserts, have long faced inflated prices, only set to worsen.
Meanwhile, advocates like New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani are pushing for more publicly-funded grocers, expanding on nonprofit co-ops and military store models that could counter the profit-driven price setting in corporate grocery chains.
Until then, shoppers are navigating what’s near them, so knowing which grocery stores offer consistently low prices is a good place to start.
According to shoppers, your best bets among mainstream grocers are Walmart, Aldi, Lidl, Grocery Outlet, WinCo, and Trader Joe’s — most offer a majority of privately labeled products. If you can manage wholesalers, like Costco, head there to compare unit prices (and often get them lower).
A tip: Try to check prices against those of your local mom-and-pop grocer or, if you’re fortunate enough to live near one, your local farm. They may be better than the big markets.
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Find digital deals
It never hurts to scour the pages of your local newspaper for the best grocery deals, but many of those old school circulars have moved online.
Once you find which store you can rely on, check out if they have any online or app-exclusive bargains. Aldi and Kroger stores, for example, post weekly digital deals.
There are also general apps that share coupons, deals, and low-cost to free food in your area. One of the most popular is Flipp, a digital circular offering that also has its own app and which lets you connect your loyalty accounts all in one place.
Before placing orders online, though, check to make sure you’re not being charged extra money, like Walmart’s reinstated basket fee. (And if you’re privacy minded, signing up for a grocery store account may not be the best idea.)
Another option is Flashfood, which hooks up local shoppers with nearby deals, online ordering, and pickup. General coupon sites like Slickdeals (as well as its app) and Coupons.com often include deals from large retail and grocery stores, like Walmart and H-E-B.
For cheap prepared food and surplus check out sites like Too Good To Go, which connects users with surprise bags of food, prepared meals, and more from local restaurants and grocers.
There’s also apps like Lemontree that focus on getting entirely free produce and pantry items, hot meals, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) money into the hands of those in need. Lemontree is available only in select cities, mostly on the East Coast.
Join online communities
There’s a vast community of deal hunters and creators sharing grocery hacks online that are worth checking out, too. Many of them congregate on subreddits like r/budgetfood (77,000 weekly visitors) and r/frugal (1 million weekly visitors), and share strategies on how to meal plan and shop in more cost effective ways.
Rebecca Chobat, the creator behind the viral account Dollar Tree Dinners, has been posting extremely low cost meals and grocery hauls for years, and now shares her ideas with more than 3.5 million followers. Other TikTok accounts like Nicole Svenson, @itsmekatevee, and @at.home.cook share budget dinners and grocery hauls. There’s also budget-friendly YouTube channels, like Frugal Fit Mom and Julia Pacheco.
Get help from food assistance organizations
If you are in need, do not hesitate to ask for help. Federal food assistance benefits like SNAP, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and the The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) work alongside a network of national food banks to fill gaps where your weekly grocery budget can’t stretch.
To find food banks in your area, check out hunger nonprofit Feeding America’s online search tool or call 866-3-HUNGRY (866-348-6479).
