Produce Stand vs. Grocery Store (Summer Edition)

Back in January, I did a comparison of the prices at my local produce stand versus the grocery store. I found that I saved 30% on my produce by shopping at the produce stand.

With so much local produce in season, I was interested to see what the comparison would look like during the summer months. I purchased the following produce on July 27th at my local produce stand (MacPherson's on Beacon Hill, if you are in the Seattle area) and checked the prices the following day at Fred Meyer.

	I Bought	Price at Produce Stand	Price at Fred Meyer
Red Lettuce	1 head	$0.69/each	$1.29/each
Green Lettuce	1 head	$0.69/each	$1.29/each
Broccoli	2.5 lb	$0.99/lb	$0.98/lb
Vine Tomatoes	1.92/lb	$1.29/lb	$1.79/lb
Limes	2	$0.16/each	$0.33/each
Garlic	.2 lb	$0.60/each	$0.33/each
Rainier Cherries	2.82 lb	$1.99/lb	$3.88/lb
Nectarines	1.89 lb	$1.29/lb	$1.99/lb
Green Onions	3	$0.39/each	$0.50/each
Pasilla Peppers	1.02/lb	$0.99/lb	$1.99/lb
Yellow Onion	1.5 lb	$0.39/lb	$0.59/lb
Plums	1.29 lb	$0.99/lb	$0.98/lb
Zucchini	1.64 lb	$0.59/lb	$0.99/lb
Cucumbers	2	$0.39/each	$0.79/each
Watermelon	15.46 lb	$0.29/lb ($4.48)	$6.98/each
Pink Lady Apples	2.22 lb	$0.79/lb	$1.79/lb
Basil	1 bunch	$0.99/each	$1.99/each
Arugula	1 box	$0.79/each	$4.99/each

Produce Stand = $29.12
Fred Meyer = $51.31

I saved 44% by shopping at the produce stand.

Two of the biggest savings were on products considered "past their prime", but that there was really nothing wrong with. The produce stand had Rainier cherries (the ZOMG best cherries) for $2.99 or "Yesterdays" Rainier cherries for $1.99. I went with "Yesterdays" and found them to be perfectly fine. The arugula was the O Organics brand from Safeway. It was still several days from expiration and had no wilting or yucky bits. And I was able to get it for $0.79 versus $4.99. I used it to make this Watermelon, Arugula and Feta salad for a BBQ and it was to die for.

Do you have a local produce stand that you visit?