The High Cost of Makin’ Groceries in New Orleans

High Cost of Groceries I New Orleans Moms BlogWhoever said that the cost of living in New Orleans was low and much less than other cities in the United States is crazy. Clearly, they have never made groceries in the metro area.

One of the constant pressing topics among our team and other moms is the exhorbitant price of food at our local supermarkets. It seems like these days, you need to sell your soul to put food on the table for your family. (Ok, not really, but you know what I mean.) 

Out of curiosity about whether or not basic groceries in New Orleans were more expensive than other cities, I did a little research among family and friends who live across the United States. When I posted the call to get prices on Facebook, I got an overwhelming response of volunteers, all curious about the same thing. Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks that they are spending way too much to put food on the table. Across the country, mothers are wanting to stage a revolution against high grocery prices! The results I received were quite surprising, and I am still scratching my head from the results!

grocery list I New Orleans Moms BlogI created the list to my left for test subjects to obtain grocery prices. These are all basic items than any typical American family may have on their grocery list. I intentionally chose things that are available nationwide and that are typical food items for a family and are easy to find. I spanned the items from most departments of the grocery so that we had adequate areas of the store with which to get data. The items I personally find most expensive here in New Orleans are dairy, meat, and produce, and I wanted to see if my assertions on our prices were accurate or just me being overly cheap. (Hey, I’m being honest here!)

What I found was telling!

Grocery Prices in the Northeast

I have always been told that the cost of living in the Northeast was one of the highest. While they may have more expensive homes to purchase, it seems like they actually are coming out ahead when it comes to their food budget. Some of the most common and widely used household foods are so much cheaper than here that I could use that extra money to actually GO OUT for a bowl of pho instead. While the average price of boneless, skinless chicken breasts average $3.99 per pound here in New Orleans (average of Rouses, Winn-Dixie and Walmart), the average in the Northeast was $2.32 per pound (from Philadelphia, PA;  New Haven, CT; and Rochester, NY).

Of course, if you are thinking it is a fluke, I assure you it is not. All forms of dairy were cheaper there, and their produce was also less expensive. That is the thing that baffles me the most. Those cities are nowhere near the southern and western parts of the country that provide the produce indicated. Why are blueberries and bananas cheaper there? Do they have a special discount for chicken and beef that we don’t know about? I am just confused as to why they get cheaper prices when we are a PORT CITY!

Grocery Prices in the Midwest

What I did expect was for food prices to be significantly less in the Midwest. I got pricing from several midwestern cities (South Bend, IN; Chicago, IL; Grand Haven, MI; and Appleton, WI). I had no doubt that their grocery costs would be more affordable because the midwest is home to much of our country’s agriculture. I have always loved visiting my dear friends in the midwest because the people are so much like our people – they are so friendly, hospitable, and they love to have a good time. (My reference is Wisconsin, y’all. If you have never been, go. The people are so nice, they appreciate a good beer, and they have the best cheese I’ve ever had in the US). The heartland of our country is also full of farms that harvest much of our corn, wheat, and dairy among other food items. However, I fully expected their beef and chicken prices to be less than our averages, and they were not. I was thinking that much of the beef and chicken we eat comes from the midwest and that their prices would be better, but I was wrong! However, when it comes to dairy and produce, they have us beat!

Grocery Prices in the West and Southeast

Grocery Graph2

Another aspect that really surprised me, though, was that the prices in the west (California, Hawaii, Nevada) were comparable to New Orleans and the Southeast with regards to dairy, meat and even produce (which, I always thought much of it came from California, right?). Overall, though, it appears as though the Southeast has the priciest average for almost every item from the list.

While our beautiful home of New Orleans is not the highest cost-wise of all of the items, it was pretty significant in the fresh foods range, with prices for meat averaging $3.99/pound for boneless skinless chicken breasts and $4.49/pound for ground sirloin. We clearly pay way more for cheese. Our average cost for cheese is $3.87 and the average on milk was $4.37. I got prices from other southeastern cities (Charlotte, NC; Destin, FL; Knoxville, TN; Savannah, GA) just to make sure that the higher prices were not just unique to New Orleans, and I was right!

Overall grocery prices in the southeast region of our country are considerably higher!

This study has been proof positive that the myth about the south’s cost of living as being less expensive, well…

It’s WRONG!

I can’t speak for other cities in the southeast, but I can most certainly say that our cost of living in New Orleans is NOT that affordable when you factor in high rates for homeowners insurance, flood insurance, and of course, some of highest car insurance premiums in the country. Tack on our high food costs and such, and I’d say that those assertions are inaccurate, at best. The worst part is that these are prices on pretty common, regular items. May the force be with you if you choose to shop 100% organic, free range or you eat specialty foods like gluten free goods, farro, or sprouted grain bread. You’ll need to put a second mortgage on your house just to eat!

photo (7)This whole project has had me scratching my head, but also realizing that I am not crazy to believe that our groceries are pretty high in comparison to other cities. The only explanation that I have is that our reputation as a city who “Lives to Eat” is part of the reason why we leave the grocery with a high food bill? Is it because our culture revolves around family and good food? Do grocers and their food providers know we will pay a premium for quality food as we all have discriminating palates? Is it because we put a lot of stock in feeding our families with our unique and delicious cuisine?

Whatever the reason, I get frustrated  every time I swipe my debit card at the supermarket.

Are you annoyed by the high price of makin’ groceries? How do you save money on your food budget? Do you have any theories on why they cost so much here? 

8 COMMENTS

  1. well, when it comes to produce, you have one huge advantage over us in the cold upper Midwest- you have a LONG growing season! You can hopefully cut down your budget by shopping local farmer’s markets or even growing your own. We can’t plant most things until mid or late May, and our growing season is typically over in late September or October when we get our first frost.

  2. This is right up my alley. I love food and I cook approximately 5-7 nights a week. I try to find reasonable prices, and shop the perimeter of the store and get fresh food. I go to multiple stores to get the best deals when I can. I worked at WD when I was a teen. I remember prices. Groceries seemed actually affordable then. Of course then I didn’t have 5 people to feed or their daily guests. The exorbitant costs in just feeding your family healthily these days is mind boggling. And here you have confirmed it. I really need to force myself to become a coupon lady. But again the problem is high meat, dairy and produce prices. If there were coupons for those items, it would be a lot more convincing. Some ways I save….Dollar tree for bread and chicken and beef broths. I buy 6 loaves and freeze them. Big Lots is great for canned ingredients and snacks. I just discovered Mathernes in Laplace, shopping their reduced meats, repackaging and freezing them. I despise Walmart but sometimes I can’t help but have to go. We live in Norco and very rarely I will go to Greaud’s for an item I have to have. They have $2.59 Philadelphia Cream Cheese there and a gallon of Kleinpeter milk is $6.79! I was blown away. I could talk about this subject for days. Your article hit my pocketbook nerve. By the way, I don’t go to all these places weekly or even monthly because they are not stores close to me and Gas prices stink too. But when I can it does give me peace of mind that I have rations stored up and I didn’t have to sell my firstborn to feed the younger ones. 😉

  3. This is why I do what I do!! Coupons and rebate apps and all the other things that I constantly push at my readers. It helps! My post for NOMB from yesterday is my new answer to those meat costs.

  4. As much as I love our “local” culture one of the main reasons our grocery prices continue to rise is because we seem to only have local grocers. As a mom that coupons to get by…I am infuriated each week as I see amazing deals at Kroger, Ralphs, Publics etc etc. I become more outraged when I hear that these grocers also have baby clubs where if you buy your baby food and such there you earn money towards more. There are no such incentives or “deals” found here and on national chain to keep our local stores prices in check.

    Side note that I am also annoyed that Boars Head (my favorite deli meat – no nitrates and all that jazz) also keeps pulling out of all of our local grocers)

  5. Andie, this is interesting… The cost of homes and property taxes are outrageous here but going to a farmer’s market is like half the price than back home! I remember going down to the farmers market in nola and feeling like I had to pay more for the produce than if I would have gone to the grocery store. Here, it’s way opposite, we walk away with steals from the farmers market. .. 99 cent romaine. We even get milk delivered to our front door, fresh every week for about the same we would have been paying down there. But on the flip side, going out to eat here costs a lot more than at home, and the food isn’t nearly as good! Guessing there is good and bad with wherever you live!

  6. Orleans Parish and Jefferson Parish groceries are more expensive than anywhere in the US I’ve ever shopped. Y’all pay about .15 to .50 more per item than I did in DC. And the taxes are just sinful.

  7. We just moved back from Chicago after 13yrs and I expected to live easier and cheaper. Not happening and that’s disappointing. I guess we are paying a premium to be in such a great city. The most disappointing is we don’t get paid as much to make up for the costs. I don’t know how so many people afford it. Not to mention the rental market skyrocketing! Luckily, we own but it’s still hard to wrap my head around why things are ao expensive.

  8. I am a native of the NOLA area who moved to the Midwest in 2004. I was met with sticker shock on the higher costs of everything. In 2010 I moved to the Philadelphia area and was greeted with higher costs. In 2013 I moved back to NOLA and was blown away by the ridiculous costs of everything.

    A Po-boy prior to 2005 was 12″ – $3.99 and now a 10″ – $12.50

    WTF???

    What caused this ridiculous surge in the cost of everything I ask? The common answer I receive is Thank You Hurricane Katrina.

    Jason

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