Overpriced New Jersey Grocery Stores

Grocery shopping has never been one of my favorite activities.

It's become much easier with the shop-at-home option and delivery services like Instacart.

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What's really made food shopping painful is the prices.

Does going through the meat section give you anxiety?

Is it hard to keep a very modest shopping order under $100? The struggle is real.

Inflation is the primary reason for soaring prices, but theft has a lot to do with it as well.

Many of us have our go-to grocery store that we visit for the necessities. For example, mine is Shoprite.

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I find that Shoprite compared to Stop and Shop has lower prices in general.

Then there are what I like to call "special occasion" grocery stores.

Sure, you can shop at these places for all your needs, but you'll need to take a second mortgage out on your home.

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Trader Joe's is one of my "special occasion" stores. The prices at Trader Joe's aren't even that bad.

TJ's just has a lot of items that are nice to have every once and a while. You don't necessarily need them.

The lifestyle website Delish compiled a list of the most overpriced grocery stores in America.

They came up with four choices, and New Jersey has three of them.

Tim Boyle

First up, and no big surprise here, is Whole Foods.

Delish says:

There’s a reason why Whole Foods is often referred to as “Whole Paycheck.” Since being founded in 1980, Whole Foods has earned a reputation for being one of the most overpriced grocery stores in the country. It’s faced scandal after scandal, from selling a bottle of water with <a class="body-link css-1h6cyse et3p2gv0" href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/whole-foods-pulls-6-dollar-asparagus-water-after-internet-backlash-1.3180697" data-vars-ga-outbound-link="https://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/whole-foods-pulls-6-dollar-asparagus-water-after-internet-backlash-1.3180697" data-vars-ga-ux-element="Hyperlink" data-vars-ga-call-to-action="three stalks of asparagus ">three stalks of asparagus </a>for $6, to their former CEO blaming America’s obesity crisis on “<a class="body-link css-1h6cyse et3p2gv0" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/24/business/john-mackey-corner-office-whole-foods.html" data-vars-ga-outbound-link="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/24/business/john-mackey-corner-office-whole-foods.html" data-vars-ga-ux-element="Hyperlink" data-vars-ga-call-to-action="making poor choices” and “ignorance.”">making poor choices” and “ignorance.”</a>

Next is a lesser-known grocery outlet called The Fresh Market.

There are Fresh Markets in Bedminster and Montvale. These are two upper class areas, and as Delish points out, these grocers choose those areas.

The Fresh Market sells great products in every <a class="body-link css-1h6cyse et3p2gv0" href="https://www.thefreshmarket.com/our-products/our-departments" target="_blank" data-vars-ga-outbound-link="https://www.thefreshmarket.com/our-products/our-departments" data-vars-ga-ux-element="Hyperlink" data-vars-ga-call-to-action="department">department</a>. You can stock up on house-made <a class="body-link css-1h6cyse et3p2gv0" href="https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a42888326/5-ingredient-almond-croissant-recipe/" target="_blank" data-vars-ga-outbound-link="https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a42888326/5-ingredient-almond-croissant-recipe/" data-vars-ga-ux-element="Hyperlink" data-vars-ga-call-to-action="croissants">croissants</a>, freshly cut floral arrangements, specialty <a class="body-link css-1h6cyse et3p2gv0" href="https://www.delish.com/kitchen-tools/kitchen-secrets/a29192473/best-cheese-for-mac-and-cheese/" target="_blank" data-vars-ga-outbound-link="https://www.delish.com/kitchen-tools/kitchen-secrets/a29192473/best-cheese-for-mac-and-cheese/" data-vars-ga-ux-element="Hyperlink" data-vars-ga-call-to-action="cheeses">cheeses</a>, and luxurious private-label products sourced from artisans all over the world. It sounds like the grocery store of everyone’s dreams—but there’s a catch. It’s pricey. With most of its locations situated <a class="body-link css-1h6cyse et3p2gv0" href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/93ybby/the-fresh-market-grocery-store-brought-food-snob-elitism-to-suburbs-north-carolina" data-vars-ga-outbound-link="https://www.vice.com/en/article/93ybby/the-fresh-market-grocery-store-brought-food-snob-elitism-to-suburbs-north-carolina" data-vars-ga-ux-element="Hyperlink" data-vars-ga-call-to-action="in affluent areas">in affluent areas</a>, it’s clear that their primary demographic is not the average shopper.

Last but not least is a grocery store that truly surprised me.

Did you think that ACME would be on this list?

Here's Delish's explanation.

According to a <a class="body-link css-1h6cyse et3p2gv0" href="https://www.checkbook.org/delaware-valley-area/supermarkets/articles/Which-Grocery-Stores-Offer-the-Best-Prices-and-Quality-2056#:~:text=Acme%20remains%20one%20of%20the%20highest%2Dpriced%20chains%20in%20the%20area.&text=In%20our%20survey%2C%20Acme's%20prices,10%20percent%20more%20than%20Redner's." data-vars-ga-outbound-link="https://www.checkbook.org/delaware-valley-area/supermarkets/articles/Which-Grocery-Stores-Offer-the-Best-Prices-and-Quality-2056#:~:text=Acme%20remains%20one%20of%20the%20highest%2Dpriced%20chains%20in%20the%20area.&text=In%20our%20survey%2C%20Acme's%20prices,10%20percent%20more%20than%20Redner's." data-vars-ga-ux-element="Hyperlink" data-vars-ga-call-to-action="2022 study">2022 study</a> of Delaware Valley grocery stores by <em>Consumers’ Checkbook</em>, Acme’s prices were among the highest in the area—and their product quality was among the lowest.

Most popular grocery stores in America

The most popular grocery stores in America, from corporate chains to family-owned enterprises. Stacker ranked them using consumer ratings sourced from YouGov polls.

Gallery Credit: Stacker