Aldi's S/O

[lynn]

How do their prices and selection compare to WM. I usually stock up on basics likes paper products, cleaners, canned tomatoes, dry and canned beans, snacks, baking needs, pasta rice etc at WM is it worth the trip to Aldi's?

[BeckyFL]

Do they have any organics?

[calandalsmom]

for me, Aldi is cheaper because walmart tempts me with unnecessary items.

[Heather in OK]

Do they have any organics?

Not that I know of. It's a lot of processed foods.

[calandalsmom]

A lot of processed foods? No more so than any grocery- its there if you want it. My Aldi has excellent prices on produce, especially.

[Shelly in the Country]

Aldi is cheaper. Everything you listed is available at Aldi. My DH prefers Aldi's quality to Walmart's. However, we do not buy meat at either Aldi or Walmart. Except for Aldi's frozen salmon....I like their salmon.

[KarenNC]

How do their prices and selection compare to WM. I usually stock up on basics likes paper products, cleaners, canned tomatoes, dry and canned beans, snacks, baking needs, pasta rice etc at WM is it worth the trip to Aldi's?

 

Here's what I pay at Aldis for some of those things:

canned tomatoes---15 oz diced .49

canned tomatoes 15 oz diced with green chiles .49

canned Mexican chili beans 15 oz .55

baking soda 16oz .43

canned kidney beans, 14 oz .55

fat free refried beans 15 oz .65

butter, 1 lb 1.99 (though they may have dropped it to 1.79 recently)

fresh baby carrots 1 lb .99 (2 lbs regular carrots about this price)

cereal, raisin bran average size box 1.49

cereal, bran flakes averages size box 1.89

cream cheese, neufchatel 8 oz .79

corn or tortilla chips, 12-13 oz 1.19

12 oz semisweet choc chips 1.29

8 oz baking cocoa 1.79

16 oz sweetened flaked coconut 1.39

garlic powder 5.5 oz 1.09

5 lb bag fresh grapefruit 1.99

32 oz lemon juice 1.85

12 oz evap milk .69

14 oz sweetened cond milk 1.39

42 oz old fashioned oatmeal 1.79

48 oz canola oil 2.79

28 oz canned sliced peaches in light syrup 1.39

15 oz raisins 1.79

8 oz deli sliced roast beef, vacuum packed 2.49

2 oz pure vanilla extract 1.99

woven wheat crackers (small Triscuit box size) 1.39

12 oz bag salad .99

fresh mushrooms (about 8 oz whole) .99

 

I've recently started a price book and don't have everything in it yet that I buy from there. They've recently added whole wheat pasta. They have a pretty wide variety of items, but not much variety of brands of each item. It's pretty much one variety of anything available. I will say I am very picky about which produce I will buy there. I have not had good experiences with the bananas, for instance as they seem to turn instantly from green to black. Grapefruit, oranges, mushrooms, carrots, onions, etc have been fine. I don't buy milk or yogurt or eggs there because we try to go more organic with those, but their prices are good on these things. Ditto for bread and baked goods, as we are trying to avoid high fructose corn syrup.

 

I can't speak to how the prices compare at Walmart because I try to avoid shopping there---I simply hate shopping at superstores.

Edited April 19, 2009 by KarenNC

[Heather in OK]

Meaning, processed but not organic. So that greatly limits what I am willing buy there.

 

I am also picky about cereal...will not buy any with preservatives in it.

 

All in all, I've never been happy with the quality of food at Aldi. The meat is HORRIBLE. Even the produce at the store near me isn't that great.

[Jennifer in MI]

We shop there for a few things. Things like brown sugar, corn oil, and white sugar are MUCH cheaper than the local grocery store.

 

We also buy their ORGANIC (!) corn chips. They are much cheaper than any other organic chips I've found!

[BeckyFL]

Not so great but I may try again for rice, sugar, etc. I found that they had BHT and corn syrup even in some of their "healthy" products. I'll have to look for the organic corn chips though.

 

I came home with only 2 things.

[Jenny in Florida]

The store nearest to me has very little produce I would consent to buy. The prices are great on what they do have, but the only things I've found worth buying are celery and occasionally carrots, bell peppers and lettuce.

 

Now, keep in mind that we're vegans. So, that greatly limits what I can purchase at just about any grocery store. However, on the things I can buy there, the difference in prices between Aldi's and Publix is enough to keep me going back. (I do not shop at Wal-Mart, by the way. So I cannot speak to how Aldi's compares to them in price. And we've tried both BJ's and Costco and found it's not worth it to us to maintain memberships there.)

 

Anyway, here's the price comparison I did on some items I buy regularly. These are all equivalent sizes/amounts. It's Item/Aldi's price/Publix price/savings.

 

Lemon Juice /1.85/2.35/.50

Rolled Oats /1.79/2.99/1.29

Spaghetti Sauce /.99/1.39/.40

Tomato Paste /.39/.53/.14

Baking Powder/.89/1.49/.60

Baking Soda/.43/.75/.32

Frozen Berries/6.98/8.29/1.31

Canned Pumpkin /.79/1.49/.70

Green Peppers /1.59/1.99/.40

Baby Carrots/.99/1.69/.70

Canola Oil /2.79/3.59/.80

White Vinegar /.79/1.29/.50

Celery/1.59/1.79/.20

Honey/3.79/3.99/.20

Hamburger Buns/.85/1.19/.34

 

I worked it out that, on these items, I save about 21% shopping at Aldi's.

 

There are a few other things that I've "discovered" since I did that comparison, too.

 

So, that's enough to make it worth it to me to hit the Aldi's once a month or so and stock up on those items.

[Dobela]

My favorite thing to buy at Aldi's is their Fit and Lively Canned chicken broth. It is 39 cents a can and the Fit and Lively brand does not have any preservatives or additives - no MSG!!! It tastes great too. I buy it a case or 2 at a time. Ok, so the nearest Aldi is about 5 hours from me at Grandma's house - which is why I buy it by the case LOL.

 

My dh loves their fit and lively brand canned fruits. They are always under $1 a can as well. Last time we bought a citrus salad that has become a family favorite.

 

I love that the stores are small and I can work my way thru quickly. My grandmother buys almost all of her milk andother perishables from Aldi's because the prices are so much less.

[Delighted3]

but I have started always buying my milk from there, because they posted a sign saying their milk is hormone free. My family likes a lot of things at Aldi's better than the name brand. Block cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream, spaghetti sauce and salsa just to name a few. I buy a lot of staples there too, like peanut butter, butter, sugars, pasta, soups, and broth. You can't beat the prices.

Joy

[Friederike in Persia]

No organic product at your Aldi??? Any and every Aldi I've gone into in Europe has been stuffed with organic produce. I thought quite a lot of Americans like organic, too, or is this a wrong impression from this board?

[calandalsmom]

No organic product at your Aldi??? Any and every Aldi I've gone into in Europe has been stuffed with organic produce. I thought quite a lot of Americans like organic, too, or is this a wrong impression from this board?

 

 

You are right! But Aldi so far in the US is catering to a very LOW cost crowd. As time goes on though it is gradually offering more and more of the "gourmet" items some cusomers are looking for.

 

I have tried some of their fresh meat and I can't quite understand why it would be called "horrible."

 

We used the ground turkey (fresh) for chili last week and it was nice. This week I bought the pork chops as I have in the past and they are no different from those I'd buy at any other grocery in town. Though Im sure I'd do better through a local pork source I know of, in the sense of buying local.

 

I think some Aldi stores are much cleaner and ncier than others but I have never been to one which was bad enough that I'd eschew it.

[AuntieM]

Beautiful produce at about one third the cost of my local WM (which has often nasty looking produce). Not specifically organic, though. There is one trick you have to know about Aldi's produce, and that is to learn which days to shop. Ask your local store what days most produce is delivered. Don't shop on the 1st, 15th, or last day of the month unless you arrive first thing in the morning. In fact, I always try to shop Aldi's for produce early in the day. They strive to not over stock and the good stuff goes fast! The one produce item I avoid there is bananas, because they often arrive very, very green and you cannot yet tell if there has been mishandling along the way that will result in a fruit that bruises as it ripens.

 

Some things I love from Aldi's are their chocolate chips (better than any name brand I've tried), their nuts (good quality and price) and decaf coffee (I think it's better than Folger's).

 

You cannot beat their milk prices anywhere. Last time there I paid just over $2 ($2.08 maybe?) for a galllon of 2% milk. Not organic, but that is not an issue for us. I am pretty sure their cheese and butter are way lower as well.

 

I have heard many say that they do not like the meats at Aldi, but when I ask them what they've tried, they usually just say they haven't they just didn't like the thought of buying meats there. Well, I don't buy much meat there, but often they have exactly the same product I see in Wal Mart. So, don't discount it without looking at it yourself. The meat selection IS quite variable, I am never quite sure what I will find, but it is usually worth a look.

 

I find that the frozen vegetables are comparable in price to WM, the only difference being that I like the Aldi's frozen broccoli florets better than WM's (and my local WM always seems sold out of that anyway).

 

The prices on canned fruits are much lower, and the fruit is good.

Some things I don't like are the soap products. I have not tried the laundry soap, but I do not care for their liquid hand soaps or shampoos. You may feel differently, but I will stick to my domestic favorites which are comparably priced at WM.

 

That said, I am not a super-organic eater (though I would be if $ were no object). I am just a typical American mama trying to feed her hungry teenagers and other tots while staying within a defined food budget. Hope this helps.

[KarenNC]

The only meats I've had from there are some of the vacuum-packed deli cuts (fine) and ham (also fine). I have bought boneless skinless chicken breasts there in the past, but not in a while because I haven't needed it. We get most of our meat in bulk from the sister of a friend, so I just don't need to buy that much elsewhere.

 

I'll have to check on the produce days. Thanks for the tip.