The Cost of Eating: Canada vs USA {groceries}

My parents and I decided to make a "fake" grocery list of (mostly) basic food items that everyone has in their pantry and write down the total cost for the items at our respective grocery stores- theirs in Ontario and mine in Pennsylvania.

The idea started when John and I went grocery shopping in Ontario, before heading for my parent's house in December.  I wanted to pick up a few things that I knew my parents wouldn't have.  We maxed our weekly grocery budget in short order and I was shocked at the prices.  It was the first time I had ever really paid attention to the cost of food in Canada...because this time I was paying.

I spend $80 a week on groceries in the states, and try very hard not to go over-budget.  I rarely do, though there are weeks I have to wonder how I managed to pull it off.  I am currently looking into coupon stacking which will potentially lower my weekly costs by even more, but for now, I browse the flyers and plan my menu by sales.  I have NEVER paid more than $1.99/lb for meat.  It's all about stockpiling and buying enough to last until the next sale.

Anyway, when I expressed my surprise to my parents, we thought it would be fun to see how much of a difference there REALLY is by making the aforementioned "fake" list and writing down the prices to find the total.  It took a while to get around to doing this, but on Thursday, we finally wrote a list, and the results are in.

THE RULES

We agreed to buy the cheapest brand in each category, rather than worry about labels and name brands.  I shopped at Shoprite and Produce Junction.  My parents shopped at Zehrs.  If the item was on sale, we noted the sale price, NOT the regular price.  

OUR GROCERY LIST

1 liter 2% milk
1 dozen eggs
16oz block cheddar cheese
16 slices processed cheese
1 carton cream cheese
16 oz sour cream
large container of vanilla yogurt
1 lb butter
1 qt vanilla ice cream
1 liter orange juice
1 tin coffee
3 lbs chicken breast
1 lb ground beef
3 lb roast beef (cheapest cut)
3 lbs green pepper
5 lbs apples
4 lbs bananas
1 head romaine lettuce
1 head broccoli
10 lbs potatoes
3 lemons
1 avocado
5 lbs white flour
5 lbs white sugar
spaghetti pasta
28 oz can diced tomatoes
28 oz can tomato sauce
small can tomato paste
1 loaf wheat bread
Oreo cookies
16oz peanut butter
1 can tuna fish
2 cans baked beans
1 pkg long-grain rice
ketchup (average squeeze-bottle size)
1 bottle salad dressing
'medium' box of Cheerios
laundry detergent (small bottle)

THE RESULTS


The GRAND TOTAL was....

$153.89 in Canada

and...

$70.22 in the USA