Posted by Fiona Saiter on Sep.14, 2009

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In May 2009, Consumer Reports did a report on the best grocery stores by asking consumers to rate service, perishables, price, and cleanliness of 59 stores. Consumer Reports said that service was a combination of checkout speed and how helpful the staff was, and Perishables rates the quality of produce and meat. A score of 100 meant that all consumers were completely satisfied, 80 meant very satisfied, and 60 pretty satisfied.

The final scoring in Consumer Reports Magazine was rated on a scale of Better to Worse. The stores that won over the consumers in order from one to ten were: Wegmans, Trader Joe’s, Publix, Raley’s, Harris Teeter, Fareway, Costco, Whole Foods Market, Market Basket, and WinCo Foods. Wegmans, a chain located in the Northeast, got an overall score of 87, a perfect score in Service, Perishables, and Cleanliness, but an average score in price.

Below is a closer look at a few of these grocery stores listed in the Consumer Reports survey of 59 stores such as Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods Market, Meijer, Giant Eagle and Aldi.

Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe’s got an overall score of 86 from Consumer Reports, a perfect in service, and price. An almost perfect score in cleanliness and an average score in perishables.

According to Trader Joe’s website, they have over 300 stores in 25 states and the District of Columbia, so if you do a search on their website and you’re lucky, you may be able to find a store in your area.

Trader Joe’s is a great place to find quality organic and healthy food at fantastic prices. We love their bags of frozen chicken breast for just under $7.00 without any antibiotics or hormones. The price of Trader Joe’s frozen chicken breast often beats out conventional bags of frozen chicken of about the same size. Trader Joe’s has boxes of Macaroni and cheese that are free of artificial colors and better for the kiddies than regular macaroni in the conventional grocery store and they sell for just under a dollar. Need chicken or vegetables stock? Organic stock sells at Trader Joe’s for about $1.99 a box, half the price of what you’ll find in a regular grocery.

For healthier choices on boxed and other pantry items you just can’t beat the price and quality. And the kids will love the shopping experience too. They can drive around mini carts; get environmentally friendly balloons, and stickers. I have always received great customer service and if you bring in your own bags you get entered into a drawing for free groceries, can’t beat that. The one problem I’ve found with Trader Joe’s is you can’t purchase all of your groceries there; you do have to also visit another store.

http://www.traderjoes.com

Whole Foods

Whole foods market received a pretty decent rating on the Consumer Reports scale as number 8 out of 59. The readers gave them a rating of 81 with perishables getting a perfect score, service and cleanliness almost perfect and price second to the worst.

I agree with the other consumers who took the survey. I love Whole Foods Market they have everything organic and healthy but as someone once said to me, “Whole Foods? You mean Whole Paycheck.” It’s generally an expensive place to shop; although, there are some great deals, too. For example, many personal care products like large bottles of shampoo (with the Whole Foods name brand 365), skin care and bars of soap are cheaper. They have a large selection of healthy eggs at great prices, whole foods tortillas are delicious and cost under $1.50 each.

Horizon Organic milk packs have 18 vacuum sealed milk boxes for $13.99, a much better price than in any other store I’ve seen. The packs of milk are great because they are organic, and the kids can take them to school, not drink them, bring them home unopened and you can just pop them back in the fridge unopened or back in the pantry for later. They also have local creamy milk that the kids love.

Whole Foods Market has great deals when you purchase items with their store brand name 365 or lesser-known organic brands. You can shop at Whole Foods, just be careful what you buy if you’re on a budget. Watch out for impulse buys because studies show that we do get sucked in every time we go shopping.

www.wholefoodsmarket.com

Meijer

Consumer Reports rated Meijer at number 32 and they got a score of 75 among consumers. They rated the best in price at almost perfect, average in perishables and cleanliness, and second to worse in service.

Meijer is a large grocery store which carries anything you could think of that you would need at any time of night or day. Need a fish at 2 a.m.? No problem. They’ve got you covered, so they are convenient and a one stop shop. You can find quality and you can find organic, they even have their own Meijer brand line of Organics.

You will find friendly workers at Meijer’s and no hassel sometimes when you return something. Today I exchanged a dress for a different size with no questions asked. I was the worst customer ever. I didn’t have my receipt or tags on the outfit, but was able to exchange it and was out the door in minutes.

www.meijer.com

Giant Eagle

Giant Eagle was further down on the list at number 46 and the customers rated them at 72. They got an average score on perishables, service, and cleanliness, and the worst score possible on price.

I don’t disagree I can’t think of one item that is a deal at Giant Eagle. They do offer a fantastic play room for kids to stay called the Eagles Nest. The people are always friendly, the kids have lots of fun and they often have specials when it’s time for Santa, the Easter Bunny or any other popular guest.

You can also get coupons in the newspaper for,” $1.00 off per gallon for a new prescription or transferred one,” so if you need to fill a prescription, you can save on gas. Also if you buy groceries here you can also save at the pump, you just have to figure out if it’s worth it.

www.gianteagle.com

Aldi

Not a bad rating at number 14 in the list with a total customer score of 79. Aldi received the best score in price, average in service and cleanliness, and second to worst in perishables.

Aldi has a Fit & Active healthy line which shows all health information on the box. We have found the Fit & Active ranch dressing is just as good as any name brand and only $.99 verses almost $3.00 at the regular store. The generic vegetable juice is low in sodium and just as tasty and the competitor. They have 100% fruit juice $1.19. Aldi also carries produce and we haven’t had any problems with what we have purchased. In fact, the tomatoes we bought said grown without pesticides on the packaging. A cheaper and smaller store where you can find great deals but also may want to buy other items in different stores.

An interesting fact, two brothers own Aldi’s one ended up with Aldi and one ended up running Trader Joe’s.

www.aldifoods.com

The best way to find great prices on healthy and organic food at your grocery stores is to ask people who eat the way you like to eat. You will soon find a common theme among what people like about each grocery store and the best place to shop for your family.

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Posted under GDM Lifestyle, Living.