3 months ago
BUFFALO, NY-- If you're looking to fill your grocery cart with just the basics this Thanksgiving, we're doing some of the work for you.
2 On Your Side compared prices for six holiday staples: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.
We checked the ads at Aldi, Tops, Walmart and Wegmans for this week (sale ends 11/21/09) to see how cheap we could find the basics.
When generic brands were available, those were purchased. Both Tops and Wegmans require grocery store cards to obtain certain discount, but that card is free.
Turkey
We checked prices for a 16 pound frozen turkey.
Aldi: $15.84
Wegmans & Tops: $4.64 (But, both stores require you spend a certain amount of money before you factor in the cost of the turkey- at Tops it' $15 dollars, at Wegmans it's $25)
Walmart: $3.04
Stuffing
We compared prices for a six ounce box, Walmart only had a 12 ounce box available, that price is listed.
Aldi: 89 cents
Tops: $1
Wegmans: 89 cents
Walmart: $1.50
Cranberry Sauce We compared one can, 14 or 16 ounces. Wegmans: 79 cents (16) Aldi: 79 cents (16) Walmart: 88 cents (14) Tops: $1 (14) Green bean casserole This comparison is a little more difficult, since it can be made different ways. In this comparison, we used a can of green beans, a can of cream of mushroom soup and the smallest available container of the french fried onions. We chose the cheapest available brand for all three and added the cost together. Wegmans: $3.47 Tops: $3.63 Walmart: $4 Aldi: $4.07 Mashed Potatoes We compared 13 ounce boxes of instant mashed potatoes, in this case Walmart did not have a comparable size. Wegmans: $1.69 Tops: $1.99 Aldi: 99 cents Pumpkin Pie We priced frozen pies. Aldi only carries fruit pies. Wegmans: $2.49 Tops: $2.99 Walmart: $3.00 We should point out, if you plan to buy this exact menu, we spent so little on our Thanksgiving dinner we didn't meet the minimum purchase requirement to get the really cheap turkey. You must spent $15 dollar at Tops and $25 dollars at Wegmans, to get a turkey for 29 cents per pound. Again, that is before you factor in the turkey. Walmart does not require a minimum purchase for turkeys. Walmart will also price match, for example, if the competition has the exact same item in a printed ad, for cheaper, Walmart will match that price. However, for items like the mashed potatoes, we purchased generic store brands that are not sold at Walmart. Remember: These prices are just up until Saturday, November 21, 2009. 2 on Your Side cannot guarantee the prices anytime on or after that date. Please check your local ads before you go shopping, as the price may have changed.
