Produce Wars

Xpect Discounts of Derby easily wins Round One of the Produce Wars! Shop Rite (of Derby) and Stop & Shop (Shelton) were a draw. Quality of the produce was reasonably good everywhere (the items at Xpect looked just as good as the other two stores). The produce that I paid $17.31 for at Xpect Discount would have cost me $25.10 at Shop Rite and $25.08 at Stop & Shop. That's a savings of $7.78 or 31%. If this were repeated every week for a year, the savings would theoretically be $404 in produce alone.

However, Xpect Discounts is very 'hit or miss.' While I found the Produce Department very well stocked during my recent visit, there are times when I walk in and walk back out again because the shelves are bare except for a few rejected wilted fruits. I guess it depends on when they get their shipments in. Also, it's not the most pleasant store, so if you place a high value on ambiance, this is not the store for you. They don't even have moving belts at the check outs, and lines are often long. Still, if you need to save a few bucks, it's worth taking a look at.

Here are the produce prices I encountered during the past week, and my grocery list. If an item was on sale, I used the sale price. For some of the heavier items I specified more than one pound because that is more realistic, at least at my house. The potatoes at Xpect were so cheap I thought it must be a typo -- 10 lbs for $2. But that's how they rang them up. The lowest prices are in purple.

Grocery List	Xpect		Shop Rite		Stop & Shop
	unit price	total	unit	total	unit	total
2 lbs cabbage (/lb)	$0.54	$1.08	$0.69	$1.38	$0.69	$1.38
1 bag mini carrots - 16 oz	$1.50	$1.50	$1.50	$1.50	$1.79	$1.79
1.5 lb yellow turnip (/lb)	$0.89	$1.34	$0.79	$1.19	$0.99	$1.49
1 cucumber	$0.67	$0.67	$0.66	$0.66	$0.75	$0.75
2 lb sweet potatoes (/lb)	$0.89	$1.78	$0.99	$1.98	$0.99	$1.98
1 lb Red Peppers (/lb)	$1.99	$1.99	$2.49	$2.49	$2.79	$2.79
1 lb Broccoli Crowns (/lb)	$0.69	$0.69	$1.49	$1.49	$1.99	$1.99
.5 lb Banana (/lb)	$0.59	$0.30	$0.69	$0.35	$0.69	$0.35
10 lb Potato - cheapest (/lb)	$0.20	$2.00	$0.50	$5.00	$0.50	$5.00
2 lb Onion - Sweet (/lb)	$0.99	$1.98	$1.29	$2.58	$1.29	$2.58
1 lb Pistachio (/lb)	$3.99	$3.99	$6.49	$6.49	$4.99	$4.99
Total		$17.31		$25.10		$25.08