Our in-town grocery stores are Aldi and Wal-mart.  There are Kroger, Meijer, IGA and Marsh in neighboring towns, but they are significantly more expensive so I only shop there when they have really good sales and I need to go to those towns anyway.  A friend who lives on the other side of the state said that Angel Food saves her a lot of money, but she doesn't have an Aldi and she doesn't shop at Wal-mart so she can't give an opinion about that.  (I appreciate her convictions, but my town is small enough that it's my only choice for most things.)

I'm single and try to eat very few processed foods.  (My weakness is low-fat chicken nuggets though!  I've made my own, but they're just not the same.)

I'm trying to decide if it would be worth the effort to do it, or if I am most likely finding equally good deals at Aldi and Wal-mart.

Thank you for your help!

Angel Food does offer some processed food so it was not my complete meal plan but a bargain helper in my overall food purchase for the month.

With prices as they are now, I think AF would still be a bargain even when compared to Wal-mart.

Thank you Brandy!  Do you also have an Aldi where you live?  If so, do you think AF is also cheaper than Aldi?  They've changed ownership recently, so they have more brand name items and the prices have gone up accordingly, but they are still slightly cheaper than Wal-mart on some things.

Sorry for asking so many questions, but ordering at just the right time hasn't worked out and I've been trying for the last few months, and I imagine that pick up would be equally challenging for me, so I'm wondering if I should make the effort.  (I have health problems that make getting to the store at all a challenge, so this has been especially difficult.)

 Thank you for your help!

I got my Chrisco summer hamper catalogs in the mail a couple of days ago and they have a program where you can refer people and get credit for their orders to save money on yours.  I noticed one question they answered in the faq was the fact it is a fixed price so you dont' have to worry about the increasing cost of food.  I always get the xmas hampers and did get a summer one once.   Thinking maybe to get a summer one for next year so I don't have to worry about the cost of food.  The only thing is that I was thinking to go to a local place for hormone free, grain fed meat instead of the reg processed meat. so will have to think on it. 

No angel food or aldi here.

I don't think Aldi is to be found around here.

Trying to schedule being able to pick up an AF package is such a challenge for me since moving that I have decided it's easier to pay more for greater convenience.

MarthMFI-What are Chrisco hampers?

re-tired

 Maybe this will help.  : )

http://www.chrisco.com.au/pages/ShowCategory.aspx?Catalog=29&Category=167 

www.chriscohampers.ca   they are only in canada, britian and new zealand I think.

It is a company from England that started years ago.  They have xmas hampers and now summer ones. They have assorted food hampers with different costs (all brand name food) and you pay all year and get it in early Dec.   Of course the xmas ones are geared towards xmas day. with breaksfast/lunch/xmas dinner/desserts/drinks like coffee/juice plus goodies. lots of hamper choices.  Summer one full of hotdogs, burgers etc.  They have toys hampers etc that you can buy for other people. Pantry filler or freezer fillers etc. They have big ones for big familys and small ones for smaller familys.  You can buy them for gifts for other people too.

I have been doing it for about 4 yrs now.   I usually spend about $400 - $500 in xmas hampers. works out to $38 a mth since I pay year round.  This year I ordered two smaller hampers that will give me a good selection of stuff like chicken, meatballs, ham, beef etc plus all the other stuff.variety but not too much of anything.   I like that they change and refine the hampers each year.   Its great for stocking.  Dh just bought up the pancake mix today from the xmas hamper.  (dont' make pancakes a lot)

Thank you!   Based on your feedback, I think I'll probably hold off on AF for now and see if I can find one that is more convenient for me.

I'm sorry to hear that you don't have an Aldi's near you, especially since I read on another thread that the food prices near you are pretty high.  I did read in another forum that Aldi was adding more stores in the south, so hopefully one will open near you soon!  

A few hints for people who haven't been to one.  First, they're closed on Sundays, and they are open limited hours.  (7am to 7pm I think.)  Next, bring a quarter for the carts.  You get it back when you return it--which is the point.  Also, bring your own bags for the food since they're not free.  You can buy them there, but you probably have plenty at home.  Also, you're welcome to take the boxes on the shelves as they empty since they're convenient ways to carry your groceries too.  They also take cash and debit cards, but no credit cards. 

The chips, salsa, pasta, cheese, bread, produce, pasta, rice, cereal, canned goods, chicken patties and even fish sticks have always been good deals in comparison to Kroger.  As I said, the rest of the inventory has changed a lot in recent years, so I'm not sure how the brand name items compare in price with other stores.

Thanks again for your help!

Thank you for the information about the Chrisco hampers!  It's too bad they don't offer them around here.