I typically shop at either Safeway or Costco for my meats. I decided to check out my other local grocery stores and really dig into the prices and qualities available at each chain.
Before we start, you may want to read up on USDA meat grading. While examining meat at my stores, I found USDA Prime (the best), USDA Choice (the second best), and lots of standard/commercial ungraded meat (the fourth best, second worst).
Here’s my price comparison chart of the regular prices at each store (click to enlarge). I collected this data over the course of 4 days and all within 5 miles so even though prices may vary regionally and with time, this data should be useful for comparisons among itself.
Since prices will vary regionally and over time I think it is more useful to compare the prices proportionally. Costco came in the cheapest so it is the baseline and all other stores’ prices are compared to it (again click to enlarge).
Here’s a rundown of the advantages, disadvantages, and quality observations at each store:
Costco: cheapest, USDA choice grade on all cuts, limited selection of cuts, paid membership required (you can tag along with another member and check out separately though), bulk quantities required, no sales on meat
Safeway: noticeably poor quality in my experience, ungraded (lost their USDA grading privileges a few years back when they were caught mislabeling), relatively good price and they have sales
Trader Joe’s: some USDA choice cuts, vegetarian fed
Nob Hill: ungraded, second best prices compared to Costco
PW Markets: USDA prime and choice cuts, good sale prices (a recent circular shows top sirloin only 5% more than Costco’s price), this store also offers a free Sunday paper with your grocery purchase on Sunday
Whole Foods: ungraded, no hormones, no antibiotics, vegetarian fed, most expensive
Lucky: ungraded, didn’t have several of the cuts I was looking for, won’t be going back
My conclusion based on this study is that I will no longer buy meat at Safeway, continue to shop at Costco, and check the PW Markets circular every week.
How do you decide where to shop for your meat?
Related posts:
Best Quality Meat at the Best Price
Buying Meat in Bulk at Costco
Organic Price Book
How to Calculate Unit Price
Quality Over Quantity
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http://www.morrisgrassfed.com
I purchase a split half once a year. That’s about 85 lbs. It is $6.30 a lb but that is for all cuts. Filet, Sirloin, ground beef, Roasts…everything. I order extra ground beef for $5.75 a lb.
Yes, it’s pricey for ground beef. But it’s really cheap for the other cuts so I figure it evens out. It’s local. It’s grassfed. It’s organic and hormone/antiobiotic free. You can visit the ranch where the cattle are raised. We are a family of 5 adult appetites (3 teens) and this lasts us all year. I do have a chest freezer.
For chicken, I keep my eye out for specials on Organic chickens. I just purchased two at Safeway that were on sale 30% off of the regular price of $2.99 a lb. That’s the same as the regular price for non-organic chicken breasts–I can make stock from the carcass, and I don’t need to worry about anti-biotics. I would like to find a source for soy-free chickens…but apparently all chicken feed, even the organic feed, contains soy.
Since meat concentrates pesticides and the like in their tissues, I try to purchase only organic meats, milk, and eggs.
Perhaps I need to make the drive to PW market sometimes!
We’re in the process of transitioning from conventionally-raised meat to grass-fed.
I buy all of our beef from Thousand Hills Farm (a local farm) through Mississippi Market (a local co-op) because it is convenient. MM is close to our apartment and regularly stocks Thousand Hills ground beef for $4-$5/lb. We don’t eat other beef or bison cuts at the moment because it is so expensive. We would like to ultimately do what Angela is doing, but can’t until we’re out of our 1-BR apartment (with hubby and son, no room for freezer!).
Chicken is harder. What I want to buy is chicken raised in a manner that increases the omega-3 in the meat and eggs. However, the label “organic” does not guarantee this. Ultimately, we’re looking for a farm that raises their chickens in a manner that is satisfactory to us, then work out a delivery arrangement for a year-round supply of whole chickens and eggs.
Milk – I haven’t switched over to organic yet out of shear forgetfulness! That’s the plan for next week’s shopping, since we only go through about 1 gallon/week.
Angela – you might check around for a hobby farm or other small farm that raises chickens by hand and would be willing to switch to a non-soy-based feed specifically for your needs. http://www.cocofeed.com/cocofeed.htm sells a soy-free feed that could be used.
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