Big stone gap food lion

**centennialdawg** · January 17th, 2010, 06:59 PM

I think the same thing, too. Especially with regards to their meat.

**imported_elp6n** · January 17th, 2010, 08:02 PM

I can't really agree with that statement.
I do all our grocery shopping and do a LOT of price comparions, and I can't make the preferred budget if I buy all our groceries at Food City (even with the Value card and coupons). Cereal, bread, milk, canned goods, etc. are less expensive at Walmart and Walmart has a few more generics to choose from. Produce is definitely less expensive at walmart. As for meat, I can usually get chicken breast cheaper at food city when its on sale, but ground beef (the kind I prefer), ground pork, and some others are considerably less expenive at WalMart. I also hate that at Food City I can't buy just a pound of ground beef. It's always 1.16, 1.23, something extra I dont need but have to pay for.

**red66** · January 17th, 2010, 08:13 PM

Originally Posted by imported_elp6n

I also hate that at Food City I can't buy just a pound of ground beef. It's always 1.16, 1.23, something extra I dont need but have to pay for.

That's because Food City's ground beef is ground fresh and packaged in the store and not at a plant by a machine 4 our 5 days before it arrives at the store. This is also true on other cuts of beef and pork. I agree that Wal Mart has lower prices on just about everything, but when it comes to freshness and taste of most meat and produce I shop at Food City.

**1inStripes** · January 17th, 2010, 08:20 PM

Thriftway in GC generally gets my meat business. They generally beat Wal-Mart or Food City on a lot of meat. Not always, but your basics have you covered. Produce tends to yoyo between all stores and depending upon the product and where its coming from. You really can't throw a blanket on any store and say they are the cheapest all the time.

**imported_elp6n** · January 17th, 2010, 08:21 PM

Not really being a meat eater, it doesn't matter to me if it's packaged in store or out of store. I just hate rip-offs. If the deli workers can cut cold cuts to a precise weight on request, the meat department should be able to also. It's just a marketing ploy to get more money from the customer. 1.23 pounds gets them $4.92 rather than $4 if it was just a 1 pound package. No recipe calls for 1.3 pounds, or 1.27 pounds, or 1.16 pounds... It's a waste, and a way to get more $.

As for freshness and packaging, the meat comes to Food City pre-butchered ready to put in a pack - just because it got put through a grinder at the store doesn't make it any fresher.

**1inStripes** · January 17th, 2010, 08:26 PM

Actually for ground meats it can make a difference. That is why Wal-Mart flush a gas mixture on their ground meats to stay fresh with their packaging system longer than what a meat product fresh ground and rapid in clear film.

**imported_elp6n** · January 17th, 2010, 08:28 PM

As long as it's safe to eat I'm fine with it. I buy it, and it gets cooked within a couple of days. But these days budget means everything.

Sometimes I can get it for a better price at sams club, usually between $2-3 a pound for 93/7 or 90/10 - in which case I repackage and freeze it.
Same for chicken breast tenders, usually under $2/pound.

**1inStripes** · January 17th, 2010, 08:33 PM

Thats why I prefer fresher ground and no nitrogen added at a better cost. Of course having half a cow and a pig in the freezer at the in-laws doesn't hurt when I am getting my meat too.

Wal-Mart back flushes their packaged pork and beef with a low oxygen mixture to try and keep it from oxidizing. Its mainly nitrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

**red66** · January 17th, 2010, 08:43 PM

Originally Posted by imported_elp6n

If the deli workers can cut cold cuts to a precise weight on request, the meat department should be able to also. It's just a marketing ploy to get more money from the customer. 1.23 pounds gets them $4.92 rather than $4 if it was just a 1 pound package. No recipe calls for 1.3 pounds, or 1.27 pounds, or 1.16 pounds... It's a waste, and a way to get more $.

As for freshness and packaging, the meat comes to Food City pre-butchered ready to put in a pack - just because it got put through a grinder at the store doesn't make it any fresher.

There is a HUGE difference between cutting a slice of deli meat and grinding hamburger meat. Sure you can get close to 1 pound or 1.5 pounds, but it would take twice as long to go in and weigh the meat and come back to take out or add more meat, not to mention the meat would look like it has been handled and not look appetizing to the customer.

The only reason to buy meat at Wal Mart is because of the price. Like Stripes said put additives and preservatives in their meat so it will stay fresh longer because it is cut or ground in a plant before it is shipped to the store. At Wal Mart you get no or very little variety such as thickness, less fat, more fat, etc. I agree with you that Wal Mart is cheaper, but I would rather pay a little more for freshness and taste.

**imported_elp6n** · January 17th, 2010, 08:52 PM

Originally Posted by red66

Like Stripes said put additives and preservatives in their meat so it will stay fresh longer

Additives = Air. Nitrogen.
And if it works - then so be it. The meat stays red and doesn't brown so fast. That's all it does is protect the color.

As for weighing, they already weigh it as they go along - they have to label each package. They have the option of taking off that extra dollars worth of consumer waste before printing the label. But they dont because its a marketing ploy to get more money per customer.