The Detroit Whole Foods, which opened today, has inspired a barrage of earnest conversation about the city's food deserts and affordability. To accommodate concerns that Whole Foods will be too expensive for regular Detroiters, the Midtown store is expected to offer lower prices than nearby branches of the national chain.
To test both their lower-prices-in-Detroit claim, and the idea that Whole Foods will be a significant oasis in the city's food desert, we've put together a small shopping list to compare costs and options at Detroit Whole Foods with their suburban stores and other grocers that Detroiters -- particularly in the (sigh) greater downtown area--would be likely to patronize.
Our list includes some basic staples (bread, milk, Cheerios, and peanut butter), prepared food items (sushi and rotisserie chicken), beverages (beer, wine, soda), packaged salad, and the ingredients for two dinners (spaghetti with tomato sauce and slow-cooker jambalaya).
Did anyone tell them Whole Foods is the place to be today?
Stop number two was a likely alternative for a Midtown Shopper -- University Foods on Warren and the Lodge.
Strangely enough, University Foods had a party and free food today as well. Happy Customer Appreciation Day!
If you're a price-savvy shopper who also likes variety, University Foods is a safe bet.
Although the store itself is fairly unremarkable -- it's a bit dark and no is going to chase you with local, whole grain, agave sweetened bread samples or homemade guacamole -- it has been family-owned since 1979 and is a staple for Wayne State students. Before Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe and Whole Foods opened, it was the only full-service grocery store within a short walk of the school.
What University Foods lacked in sparkle, it won back in small options. Our shopping cart total was a lot lower than at other stores mostly because you could buy mini-fridge sized packages of everything: one chicken breast, a small can of chicken broth, and half pound bags of pre-cooked, frozen shrimp for example.
Here's what we gathered.
Staples
- Peanut Butter: $3.19/18 oz. jar
- Cheerios: $3.79/9 oz. box
- Milk: $2.49/gallon
- Packaged whole wheat bread: $2.89/loaf
Beverages
- Bell's Two Hearted: $10.99/six-pack
- Labbatt's Blue: $10.99/12-pack
- Red table wine: $10/bottle
- Faygo orange soda: $1/two-liter
Basic Dinner Salad
- Pre-packaged chef's salad: $3.50
Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce
- Spaghetti: $1.79/pound
- Ragu: $1.99/jar
Slow-cooker Jambalaya (we picked this recipe because it's not only easy to make and delicious but requires a wide range of ingredients from fresh meat to vegetables to packaged items like chicken broth and rice)
- Frozen, cooked and peeled shrimp: $7.99/pound
- Turkey sausage: $4.59/pound
- Chicken breast: $3 for about a pound (the smallest package available)
- Pepper: $0.69/pond
- Onion: $0/89/pound
- Celery: $1.29/pound
- Diced tomatoes: $1.99/28 oz. jar
- Chicken broth: $1.05/can
Prepared foods
- Rotisserie chicken: Not an option. But, you can get baked chicken for $2.25 a quarter
- California roll: $7.99
