Going to the grocery store without a plan can be stressful. With so many different options, how can we know what to choose? Especially with the rising cost of food, it can be tough to stay within a budget. If you can relate to the struggles of grocery shopping, this is the article for you! We have broken the whole process down into three simple steps: pick your grocery store, make your list, and then store your food.
A step-by-step guide to grocery shopping on a budget.
Picking the right grocery store is the first step to staying on track with weekly budgets and goals! Since there are a few different stores near McMaster, it can be overwhelming to know the difference. You may think that store location doesn’t impact your groceries much, but when factoring in cost, proximity to home and quality of groceries, you can be saving or spending a lot of extra money per week. This section will look at the four closest places to McMaster and the benefits and drawbacks of each. This process could also be used if you live in another area aside from West Hamilton.
Distance: Food basics is a close option, about 2.9 km from McMaster. It is closer to the Westdale side of campus, which makes it very accessible to those in student housing, and bus routes.
Food basics is known for its affordability, making it a great option.
Cost: Food basics offers 10% to students on Tuesdays, and has weekly deals and flyers that go out. This coupled with already low prices makes food basics cost upbeat.
Freshness & Variety: Their selection can be more limited but quality does not falter here. Shopping earlier in the week usually gives you better options.
Conclusion: Food Basics may be a further option for some students, but taking advantage of the HSR pass and discount days to save money can make it worth the extra time spent.
Distance: Fiddes Whole Produce Stand is a small produce warehouse 2.2km away from McMaster and 450m away from Fortinos with a ‘cash-and-carry’ option, which means they have hours that the public can access wholesale produce.
Freshness & Variety: Fiddes prioritizes taste and quality of produce and they have an extensive selection to choose from with produce rotating based on season.! The only setback is that Fiddes only carries fruits and vegetables, eggs, and tofu.
Cost: Prices vary by season but are consistently low, with great quality and variety.
Conclusion: Many students pair a quick stop at Fiddes for fruits and vegetables with a Fortinos run for other groceries, a smart way to balance cost and quality.
Distance: This store is the closest in proximity to McMaster, being just 160 metres away, but it also has drawbacks of higher prices and limited variety.
Cost: Shoppers does have a 20% discount on Thursdays and when combining this with optimum points and on certain items you could get a good discount. This is critical as prices at Shoppers Drug Mart tend to be higher across Canada.
Freshness & Variety: Since Shoppers Drug Mart is not primarily a grocery store, they don’t offer the same freshness and variety as other grocery focused places. They offer imited items such as dairy products, frozen meals, and packaged items like snacks and canned items are available.
Fortinos:
Cost: Fortinos sits at a higher price range than standard grocery stores. Fortinos offers weekly flyers and digital coupons through the PC Optimum app, helping offset some of the higher prices.
Distance: Fortions is 1.5km away from McMaster campus making it a about 20 minute walk or 13 minute bus ride. If you are living off campus, there are lots of student houses minutes away from Mac that could make this the closest grocery store for you.
Freshness & Variety: The higher costs here is because Fortinos is considered a specialty store. As it offers a more diverse range of foods and higher quality produce sections.
Overall: If you value quality and variety and don’t mind paying a little extra, Fortinos is a solid choice. But for tighter budgets, and those living further away, you might want to shop selectively here using sales and points to your advantage.
General grocery store considerations:
Get started by creating categories of food groups (e.g. produce, dairy, meat, grains, etc.) Since products at the grocery store tend to be sectioned by category, this will make it easier to find items on your list when you are at the store. Some great digital tools for making lists include The Apple notes app or AnyList.
Next, take a look at the flyer for your grocery store of choice (can be found on the store website). The flyer will highlight all of the current deals and discounts. Look for items you could build a meal around, as well as pantry staples.
Pro tips:
As you make your list, try to think about how long different types of food will last. Non-perishable foods last a long time without being refrigerated. Examples of non-perishables include canned and jarred products, dried foods, and many snack items, such as granola bars. You can buy larger quantities of these foods when they are on sale, because they will last.
In contrast, perishable foods will spoil if they are not stored at a certain temperature. These include meats, dairy products, and some types of fresh produce. Try to buy smaller quantities of perishables and check expiration dates to avoid food waste. Keep in mind that certain products may be on sale because they expire soon. You can still buy these products, but you will have to use them up quickly or store them in the freezer.
After putting in the effort to get groceries at a good price, you don’t want them to go to waste. Learning basic food storage tips can save your money by helping your food last longer!
Pantry items like pastas, dried foods, legumes and canned products inherently have the longest shelf life. Keeping these foods in a pantry that is away from fluctuating temperatures (like hot ovens) and in a dark spot will ensure their long shelf life is maximised. Be sure to not overpack your pantry however, as good airflow will prevent mold and pests from lingering.
Different areas of the fridge can be subject to different temperatures. Keep items that need to be kept colder like milks, yogurts, and defrosting meats at the bottom to ensure they are kept cold. Foods that benefit from moisture should be kept in crisper drawers on high humidity like carrots, broccoli and lettuce.
Key Tip!
Freezers can be used for many products that you want to extend shelf life on, and because of this labels are your best friend in a freezer. When putting things in ziplock bags you should write the freeze date and contents of the bag directly on. For containers the same information and be written onto a piece of tape and stuck on. This will help reduce confusion of what you actually have and how long it’s been on there for. A key tip for freezer freshness is most foods taste best only being kept in the freezer for 3 months, but can safely be considered after this.
When it comes time to defrost your freezer items, remember never leave them on the counter to defrost, place them in the fridge for temperature controlled defrosting!
Although grocery shopping can seem overwhelming, a bit of planning makes it much more manageable. We hope these tips can help you eat well, save money, and reduce food waste. Happy shopping!