By -Magee Walker
I was warned when I moved to Whistler that groceries up here are more expensive than groceries in Vancouver. Newly poor, I sought advice on which grocery store was cheapest. One friend swore by Nesters, but another said IGA had the best all-around prices and that Nesters was only worth it for sale items. Everyone said that The Grocery Store in the village was for tourists and suckers. But which grocery store truly offers the best value? I undertook an intensive investigation to unveil the truth.
I assembled a basket of several basics, ranging from a dozen eggs to two litres of milk (skim) to a box of classic Honey Nut Cheerios. I discovered the following:
- In both the “regularly priced” category and “overall price including sales”, Nesters wins. IGA is runner up in the regular priced category, but is actually slightly behind Creekside Market when sales are accounted for. Nobody should be shocked that The Grocery Store comes in last place across the board. They’ve got to make up for those village rents somehow.
- You know that block of cheddar cheese priced $9.33 with a sticker that it’s actually only $6.99? It’s the same everywhere.
- Only a fool pays full price for chips, it seems. While we’re at it, you know when it says “2 for $5.00”? That’s code for “1 for $2.50”. You don’t HAVE to buy two. My friend who works in a grocery store told me this little trick.
- The chicken at Nesters is a relative steal!
Another mystery of Whistler solved! See you at Nesters.
Nesters |
IGA |
The Grocery Store |
Creekside Market |
|
| Honey Nut Cheerios | $ 6.99 | $ 6.55 | $ 6.99 | $ 6.99 |
| $ 5.69 | $ 4.99 | |||
| Two Litres of Milk, Skim | $ 3.49 | $ 3.59 | $ 3.99 | $ 3.59 |
| Dempster’s Whole Wheat Bread | $ 4.19 | $ 4.35 | $ 4.59 | $ 4.59 |
| $ 1.49 | (I actually forgot to look here, but I’ll assume it’s same as Creekside) | |||
| One Block of Cheddar Cheese | $ 6.99 | $ 6.99 | $ 6.99 | $ 6.99 |
| Lays Chips, Salt and Vinegar | $ 3.39 | $ 4.55 | $ 3.99 | $ 3.99 |
| $ 2.50 | $ 2.66 | $ 3.00 | ||
| Dipps Granola Bars, Peanut Butter | $ 4.49 | $ 4.15 | $ 4.49 | $ 4.39 |
| $ 2.74 | $ 3.99 | |||
| Apples, Granny Smith ($ per pound) | $ 1.59 | $ 1.59 | $ 1.69 | $ 1.69 |
| Bananas ($ per pound) | $ 0.89 | $ 0.89 | $ 1.19 | $ 0.99 |
| A Bag of Baby Carrots | $ 2.79 | $ 2.49 | $ 1.99 | $ 1.99 |
| $ 1.50 | ||||
| Chicken Breasts ($ per kg) | $ 16.99 | $ 21.80 | $ 21.99 | $ 19.99 |
| Dozen Large Eggs | $ 3.29 | $ 2.92 | $ 3.29 | $ 3.99 |
|
*italics indicates sale price
|
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Good details. food is tricky up there.
Even the village grocery has hot deals, you just need to do your due dilly!
dont shop at just one. go to all and find sales. buy in bulk do trips to squamish to the stores down there and build a base of food supplies. if you are super broke try the food bank definatlely the cheapest. you are the poor in whistler i garauntee. do not use it if you just want to party and waste your money. but the food bank is great option when you first get to whistler and have no job and limited funds woo hooo