Why is food so expensive in the DC area?  I moved down here from Boston which I thought was high, except for seafood. Grocery deli sandwich meat for 5.99 - 7.99 / pound.  Ouch!  Any suggestions where best to shop.  I am in Roselyn and have a car.  I would be willing to drive a bit of a distance to get basics every one or two weeks. harry levinson This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Why is food so expensive in the DC area?  I moved down here from Boston which I thought was high, except for seafood. Grocery deli sandwich meat for 5.99 - 7.99 / pound.   It's true!  I was in Miami last week and the low food prices impressed me.  Chicago prices tend to be about the same as here, though. Shoppers Food Warehouse (Food Shoppers Warehouse?) has low prices, but limited selection.  For veggies and fruit, you'll come away spending about 15%-20% less.   In Baltimore, many stores honor coupons at double value.   Basics has a lot of stuff in bulk, so that makes the total price for dry goods lower.  But then you have 20 rolls of toilet paper and 10 pounds of detergent lying around. Then there are the shoppers clubs like Pace Warehouse in Laurel. If you are a member, you get 5% off of the already minimal prices. I don't know if there is one in the Virginia area.  There's also something that opened up recently on Rt. 1 in Beltsville, but I haven't had a chance to check it out yet. You can get good deals on ethnic foods like pita bread and cheeses (and peripherally ethic ingredients, like fresh cilantro) at stores like the Americana Groceries on University Blvd in College Park and off of Piney Branch Rd. in Takoma Park. The Indian, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Caribbean stores are definitely worth checking out. Spices and sauces are much cheaper there

Why is food so expensive in the DC area?  I moved down here from Boston which I thought was high, except for seafood. Grocery deli sandwich meat for 5.99 - 7.99 / pound.   Probably because it's thought that the DC area is assumed to be recession- proof ... I remember reading somewhere that the average food prices are higher around here than those in Hawaii!  I think only Alaska was the only state/area in the US that was more expensive on average. You could try living on peanut butter and sugar sandwiches (um-um-um) for a while.  Spread peanut butter on each piece of bread, spread some sugar on the peanut butter (not too much tho, so that when you bite into the sandwich, the sugar doesn't spill out onto your lap), and slap the pieces of bread together.  Lots of protein, carbohydrates, and cheap.  I used to eat like two of these a day back in high-school (and I'm still somehow the same weight that I was in 10th grade.  But about foot taller  Not too sure what this has to do with why food is so expensive around here, but I was hungry and had one of those on my mind ...

Why is food so expensive in the DC area?  I moved down here from Boston which I thought was high, except for seafood. Grocery deli sandwich meat for 5.99 - 7.99 / pound.   The Safeway in Rosslyn is more expensive than any other Safeway I've ever been to!  (For example, a can of Similac baby formula costs a dollar more at the Rosslyn Safeway than at the the Safeway in Woodbridge).  Of course, Woodbridge is a bit of a drive south on 95, but you might want to think about shopping outside the beltway and checking out stores like Basics, Shopper's Food Warehouse, etc.   Debbie

I used to shop exclusively at Giant or Safeway.  In the interest of saving money I now go exclusively to George's, Super Fresh, or Value Food.  While I beleive the meat at Giant is better than George's