17 Photos Of People's Grocery Carts That'll Either Make You Say "Yikes" Or "I Wish I Could Get All That For $50"
We all need to eat, but in recent years, it has sometimes felt like our grocery stores and food brands are actively working against us to keep us nourished.
And it's not just a feeling, but a fact — from 2019 to 2023, food prices rose by 25%, surpassing overall inflation of 19% during the same period. In one survey, consumers cited food prices as their primary economic concern.
Anecdotally speaking, I have found it is sometimes cheaper for me to order pre-made meal delivery rather than buying all the ingredients myself (it's also more convenient, but that's another story). Sometimes, I even find DoorDash is cheaper, which is willldddd.
Curious about how groceries cost across the country, I fell into a rabbit hole on r/whatsinyourcart, a subreddit where people share their groceries, often alongside their bills and where they bought them.
I decided to round up all the best ~approximately~ $50 entries I could find from this year to see how far $50 can go depending on location, store, and what's in the cart. It might make you feel a little better (or worse) about your own grocery bill. Let's get into 'em:
1.Here's what $46.34 got this person from Ralph's in Los Angeles:
2.To further prove my point that sometimes ingredients for one meal cost more than Doordash or meal delivery, this person's ingredients for their dinner cost them $47.72 in NYC:
3.Here's what $50.87 got this person at Whole Foods (location unspecified):
4.Another Whole Foods entry... $46 in Cincinnati:
5.Ok, but it's not alllll terrible — here's what $51.08 got this person at an Aldi in Wisconsin:
6.And here's $50 at Albertsons in Southern California, of which $20 was in maple syrup:
7.Here's what $51.69 looked like for this person at Star Market in Boston ($41.73 after rewards card):
8.But here's $50 at a Walmart in Indiana... not bad (and they even have meat!):
9.Also very impressed by this person's Aldi haul for $50.86 in Louisville, KY:
10.Here's $51.90 at a Family Dollar in Chicago's south side:
11.Here's a pretty solid "just under $60" haul from Walmart in Saratoga Springs, NY:
12.Not sure how to feel about this $45 vegan snack haul from a Target in Massachusetts:
13.This is what $44 gets ya at Trader Joe's in NYC:
14.A hop, skip, and a ferry away, here's what $49.07 gets at an Aldi in New Jersey:
15.And here's a burrito-cereal haul for $47 at a grocery store in Pennsylvania:
16.These people got a $51.10 produce-only haul from the "bargain bin" at a grocery store in the Bay area, California:
17.Lastly, here's some bulk-buying for $48.52 at an H-E-B in Houston, TX:
That's it! Was it what you expected? What does $50 get you at your local grocery store? What's outrageously expensive, and what's surprisingly cheap? Let me know in the comments!