guest0112 t1_iwq9ccv wrote
Reply to comment by Skontradiction in Amid historic inflation, which area grocery store has the lowest prices? by Skontradiction
Aldi is absolutely incredible. If anyone reading this hasn’t tried shopping there, I hope you take this article serious. Their produce is fresh. Only downside is their selection isn’t always great but you save so much money there that it’s worth stopping at giant or wherever else on your way home.
Don’t forget your reusable bags and quarter
PigtownDesign t1_iwqm8fs wrote
I think that people's problem with Aldi is that they went into food deserts where there were no grocery stores, and got the reputation of being a low-income grocery store. I shopped there all of the time when I lived in the UK, so was familiar with what a good store it was when they arrived here. Same for Lidl.
[deleted] t1_iwqqnr2 wrote
My problem is that the selection is very, very limited, produce and meat is so so at best, and a lot of their products are preprocessed foods I have no interest in.
pinkycatcher t1_iwrdm4s wrote
That's my biggest problem, I walked into Aldi's once to try it out and get a week or so worth of food, and at the end I walked out with a cereal I didn't really want because they didn't have anything else I wanted.
TheRainbowpill93 t1_ix0qxic wrote
You go to ALDIs for your basics: like Milk, Produce, Cheese, Eggs, Pasta, etc. Then visit a big grocery for the stuff you didn’t purchase. That’s how you’re supposed to do it.
AreWeCowabunga t1_iwqozgl wrote
I think there's a noticeable drop in quality of a lot of the stuff at Aldi, especially their off-brand stuff. I've been much happier with Lidl.
macmac360 t1_iwt9t2f wrote
Lidl is great, I go to the one in Timonium sometimes and am always amused with all the random shit they sell. What other grocery store sells weed wackers, tool boxes, and jumper cables?
Every time I go there I see something I would never expect to be in a grocery store.
PleaseBmoreCharming t1_iwqe2c9 wrote
I'm always disappointed with Aldi's packaging of products. Yes, it's cheap, but there's soooo much plastic used for their produce or refrigerated items. Like, why do my bell peppers have to be wrapped in a sealed plastic bag!? It's so wasteful it almost makes the cheap prices not worth it.
(Full disclosure: my resolution for this past year ways to be more sustainable/environmentally conscious, so I've been a bit more observant about how much plastic grocery store products use for no reason.)
dopkick t1_iwqnb6h wrote
While I agree with you, you're buying into an effort by corporate America to shift the onus of saving the world onto the consumer. Which they happily find ways to profit off of - lots of people happily buy garbage because it's plastic free. This conveniently gets people focused on tiny contributors of greenhouse gasses while flagrant polluters fly under the radar. I bet a single week-long cruise generates more CO2 than all of the excess plastic in all Aldis worldwide in a year.
PleaseBmoreCharming t1_iwqor5t wrote
I'm aware of this, but I can personally make the decision to avoid it if I want. I'm not saying I'm saving the world here, and I do understand the need for larger industries/corporations to do their direct part in changing their business processes, but that doesn't mean I want to stop be conscious of it on account that it won't make a dent. It's more a psychological thing, really.
dopkick t1_iwqrnsl wrote
What if you take the money you would save on food and instead purchase a more fuel efficient (or EV) car? Or donate to a cause that's trying to go after the big polluters? Saving a substantial amount of money can definitely open up other avenues to make a larger impact.
sit_down_man t1_iwrq5jl wrote
IMO the only true consumer-based individual action that would matter is ditching a car or becoming car-light. Both of which is way better for the environment than purchasing an electric car, which has significant environmental cost to make.
TaterTotz8 t1_iwqefro wrote
And why can’t I buy single peppers/onions/potatoes?! The produce selection is one of my gripes with aldi but the low prices make it worth doing a double grocery store trip to pick up stuff that’s not available at aldi
HazelNightengale t1_iwr6f27 wrote
Aldi's big strategy is efficiency. Limited selection, limited square footage, you go in, get your stuff, the checker rushes you down the line, you pay and get the hell out, see ya next week.
A bag of onions/peppers/etc. can be scanned and swept down the conveyor, rather than count and enter how many (like Trader Joe's) or find the tiny sticker on the pepper with the code and weigh them out.
It's easier to stock, easier to track for inventory purposes, easier to scan and move down the line.
dopkick t1_iwqbq8h wrote
Some stuff there is ludicrously cheap compared to other places. When I need heavy cream it's like 5-6x cheaper at Aldi compared to anywhere else.
TheCaptainDamnIt t1_iwvkmd5 wrote
A lot of the really cheap stuff is also sold in amounts far too large for a single person to ever need and the selection is not that good. I need a small bag of rice and and two onions, not a sack of each!
guest0112 t1_iwvtuk5 wrote
Agreed. Although you just picked two things that have very long shelf life
moderndukes t1_iwvwyj3 wrote
A lot of people would be surprised that there are two Aldi companies and one of them is called Trader Joe’s in the US.
[deleted] t1_iwqdxfi wrote
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