Sam's Club

Do you remember our Anatomy of a Discount Food Box post?   We discussed getting food for the same price as you would have paid with the now-defunct Angel Food Ministries.   While there are some alternatives, like MidAmerica Foods and the SHARE program, they are not as widespread as Angel Food Ministries was.

I am a member of Sam's Club, the only warehouse club in my area.  I pay $40 a year for an Advantage Membership.  I wanted to see if I could get groceries at Sam's club for our target prices in the above mentioned article. 

Here is a sampler of Sam's Club prices:

Bar-S Franks, 5 pounds for $5.38  ($1.08/lb)


Tyson Chicken Nuggets, approx 4.2 pounds $9.98  ($2.38/lb)

Tyson Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast 10 pounds $22.98 ($2.30/lb)
Interestingly, the 6 pound bag is $12.98 ($2.16/lb)

Tyson Chicken Wings 10 pounds $16.98 ($1.70/lb)

10 Pound box of Beef Patties $23.98 ($2.40/lb)

6 Pound bag of Meatballs $13.98 ($2.33/lb)

4 Pounds of Tilapia $12.98 ($3.26/lb)

Ore-Ida Fries, 8 pounds $6.68 ($.69/lb!)

Dole frozen mixed fruit 6 pounds $9.78 ($1.63/lb)

Members Mark steamable broccoli, 4 pounds $5.98 ($1.50/lb)

Frozen Berries, 4 pounds $8.58 ($2.15/lb)

6 Pounds Dry Spaghetti Noodles $5.76 ($.96/lb)

25 Pounds Rice $12.14 (.49/lb!)


What I've found is that a warehouse club will never beat the prices of my local supermarket's loss leaders, but they can  have very good daily prices for many items.  There are some things that in my opinion are overpriced.  I can almost always get these for less at my local market with coupons (Frozen dinners, certain canned goods, cereal).