We went grocery shopping in Miami for you to compare prices. Which store was cheapest?

Howard Cohen
·3 min read
2

Everyone seems to be talking about the rising cost of grocery shopping. We overheard one customer gasp, “Oh, my!” as she stared at a cooler full of 12-count eggs at a Winn-Dixie store in Doral this month. And they weren’t the most expensive around.

The Winn-Dixie supermarket in a shopping center at 10505 NW 41st St. in Doral on Dec. 19, 2022.
The Winn-Dixie supermarket in a shopping center at 10505 NW 41st St. in Doral on Dec. 19, 2022.

Prices for groceries have been going up for a while. The Consumer Price Index found that food purchased for home use increased 13.5% for the year ended August 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau for Labor Statistics.

As grocery runs at South Florida chains heated up before this Christmas holiday weekend we did a non-scientific run to several popular stores to compare prices on a handful of common items. We look at eggs, milk, bread, fruit (we opted for bananas) and cartons of eggnog.

To compare, we went to Publix, Milam’s Market and Whole Foods Market in Pinecrest, Winn-Dixie in Doral, Fresco y Más in Kendall, Aldi in Palmetto Bay and a Walmart in Westchester.

(Note: We know you can buy groceries at Sedano’s, Target, Trader Joe’s, Costco, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Walgreens, CVS and other chains. This survey is meant to give you a representative idea.)

The Fresco y Mas at the TJ Maxx Plaza at 7480 SW 117th Ave. in Kendall on Dec. 16, 2022.
The Fresco y Mas at the TJ Maxx Plaza at 7480 SW 117th Ave. in Kendall on Dec. 16, 2022.

Prices varied. Even among chains, prices can vary for the same item at different locations because of supply costs and market demand.

Here’s what we found on our December runs:

Aldi storefront in the Coral Reef Shopping Center at 15033 S. Dixie Hwy. in Palmetto Bay, Florida.
Aldi storefront in the Coral Reef Shopping Center at 15033 S. Dixie Hwy. in Palmetto Bay, Florida.

Bread

A wall of bread at a Doral Winn-Dixie in December 2022. Prices can vary from store to store as well as between chains.
A wall of bread at a Doral Winn-Dixie in December 2022. Prices can vary from store to store as well as between chains.

▪ Publix: Publix brand large white bread was $2.89 a loaf. Publix was running a BOGO on Nature’s Own bread, which would mean you’d get a $4.09 loaf free on the weekend of Dec. 12. These BOGOs repeat frequently on this brand.

▪ Winn-Dixie: SE Grocers’ (parent company of Winn-Dixie and Fresco y Más) brand was normally $2.49 a loaf, but the chain had a sale on its brand for $1.88 a loaf on Dec. 19. Nature’s Own was $3.99.

▪ Fresco y Más: Nature’s Own was $3.99.

▪ Aldi: L’Oven Fresh white, $95 cents. Nature’s Own, $3.13.

Aldi’s L’Oven Fresh brand bread was 95 cents a loaf on Dec. 12, 2022.
Aldi’s L’Oven Fresh brand bread was 95 cents a loaf on Dec. 12, 2022.

▪ Whole Foods: Nature’s Own, $4.99.

▪ Walmart: Great Value white brand, $1. Nature’s Own, $3.34

▪ Milam’s: Nature’s Own $4.29, but there’s a sale through Jan. 4 that offers two loaves for $6, so you save $1.29 each.

Eggs

We compared a dozen-count carton.

Aldi Goldhen large eggs grade A in a carton of 12 was $3.66 at the Palmetto Bay location on Dec. 12, 2022.
Aldi Goldhen large eggs grade A in a carton of 12 was $3.66 at the Palmetto Bay location on Dec. 12, 2022.

▪ Publix: Publix brand, large white $6.15

▪ Winn-Dixie: Crystal Springs, $5.03.

▪ Fresco y Más: Eggland’s Best large white eggs, $3.89. Crystal Springs large white, $5.19

▪ Aldi: Goldhen large eggs, $3.66.

▪ Whole Foods: The chain’s 365 brand large white, $3.39.

▪ Walmart: Great Value, $3.16.

▪ Milam’s: Eggland’s Best large white, $4.19.

Milam’s Market at Pinecrest Center, 11701 S Dixie Hwy. on Dec. 18, 2022.
Milam’s Market at Pinecrest Center, 11701 S Dixie Hwy. on Dec. 18, 2022.

Milk

Price per gallon.

Fresco y Más milk in Kendall on Dec. 16, 2022 was $5.49 a gallon for its SE Grocers brand.
Fresco y Más milk in Kendall on Dec. 16, 2022 was $5.49 a gallon for its SE Grocers brand.

▪ Publix: Publix brand, $4.95. McArthur Dairy, $5.15.

▪ Winn-Dixie: SE Grocers, $5.29.

▪ Fresco y Más: SE Grocers’ $5.49. McArthur Dairy, $5.99.

▪ Aldi: Friendly Farms, $3.21.

▪ Whole Foods: 365 brand $5.39. 365 organic, $6.99.

▪ Walmart: Great Value, $3.32.

▪ Milam’s: McArthur Dairy $5.79. Sunny Florida, $4.99.

Bananas

Price per pound.

Bananas were 69 cents a pound at this Winn-Dixie in Doral on Dec. 19, 2022.
Bananas were 69 cents a pound at this Winn-Dixie in Doral on Dec. 19, 2022.

▪ Publix: 70 cents.

▪ Winn-Dixie: 69 cents.

▪ Fresco y Más: 59 cents.

▪ Aldi: 46 cents.

▪ Whole Foods: 69 cents.

▪ Walmart: 48 cents.

▪ Milam’s: 69 cents.

Eggnog

Publix brand half gallon containers of its seasonal egg nog is usually $6.79 a carton. But at the Pinecrest location at 13401 S. Dixie Hwy. on Dec. 12, 2022, the store had a two for $10 special, savings of $3.58.
Publix brand half gallon containers of its seasonal egg nog is usually $6.79 a carton. But at the Pinecrest location at 13401 S. Dixie Hwy. on Dec. 12, 2022, the store had a two for $10 special, savings of $3.58.

▪ Publix: $6.79 a half gallon carton. But the Pinecrest had a two for $10 special, a savings of $3.58 on Dec. 12.

▪ Winn-Dixie: Almond Breeze 32-ounce, $3.99. Southern Comfort half gallon, $6.49.

▪ Fresco y Más: Califia Farms Holiday Nog Almond Milk, $6.39, but was on sale for $3.48 on Dec. 16 for the 48-fluid ounce bottle.

▪ Aldi: Promised Land, $3.49 for a 28-fluid ounce bottle.

▪ Whole Foods: Califia Farms Holiday Nog Almond Milk, $6.69

▪ Walmart: Borden $6.47 half gallon.

▪ Milam’s: Califia Farms Holiday Nog Almond Milk, $5.99.

Customers use newly-installed self-checkout lanes at the Publix supermarket at 13401 S. Dixie Highway in Pinecrest on Oct. 2, 2022. The store added the machines about two weeks earlier.
Customers use newly-installed self-checkout lanes at the Publix supermarket at 13401 S. Dixie Highway in Pinecrest on Oct. 2, 2022. The store added the machines about two weeks earlier.

Consumer price index chart

The interactive chart below shows the consumer price index for some staples you may reach for as you fill your role as holiday host or “please-bring-a-dish” guest for the basics you may need, such turkey, ham, vegetables, bread, butter and potatoes.