The WinCo price list has been updated!

Winco does have a few new granola flavors, but they took out their new granola flavors that were on the endcap for two months.  They have also added vanilla beans in their spice section.

The biggest price increases were:
Pecan Halves - Increased from $9.28 to $10.61
Walnut Halves, pieces - Increased from $5.48 to $6.98
Taco Seasoning - Increased from $2.75/lb to $3.79/lb.

Also, something else I noticed as I was updating this list, is WinCo's bulk items that are "on sale" are given a green label. I thought it was interesting that the walnuts and pecan halves were on sale, but in reality their bulk price increased quite a bit from last month.  This may be a precursor to a substantial increase in price...we'll see.

Good Earth-
For those of you who live in Utah, I have decided to add Good Earth to my blog.  Once upon a time I had full list for Good Earth and Sunflower Market, but I think they must have been accidentally deleted.  I gave it a shot to go and write down all the bulk items they carry.  I was able to get through most of the bulk food section before I ran out of time, so the list does not contain the snacks located at the far wall.

I actually really like Good Earth.  I have a friend whose daughters first familiarized me to this store.  She was always bringing in yummy/healthy snacks and I had to know where she was getting them - Good Earth!  This was my first introduction to a real bulk food section, aside from bulk herbs.  Good Earth is a local family owned and operated health food store that has only a handful of stores in Utah.  You just cannot compare them to WinCo.  The bulk section is very different, carrying a broader range of grain, flour, and sweeteners, most of them being organic, and good amount being gluten free.

In my opinion, there is healthy, and then there is really healthy.  To me, Good Earth falls into the really healthy category.  Most of the bulk items are organic and non-GMO, and even a handful of the dried fruit is unsulfured. They used to have more unsulfured dried fruit to choose from, but that was over a year ago that I noticed some change.

If you want to compare prices against Good Earth, I would suggest comparing them with Azure Standard.  Azure Standard has a lot of organic bulk food, many of them being the same to what Good Earth carries.  Azure Standard carries a lot of 25 lb and 50 lb bags of grain and such, but they also sell things in smaller quantities like 1 lb, 2 lbs, 5 lbs, and 10 lbs depending on the product.  They also carry unsulfured dried fruit.

Xanthan Gum-
For those who are on a gluten free diet, Good Earth carries xanthan gum at a considerably lower price than WinCo.  I saw it as I was walking out of the store.  I'm not sure of all the locations, but at the American Fork location, the xanthan gum was located on an end cap nearest the registers as you walk toward the bulk section.  It is in a brown paper bag, and it is being sold for $12.67/16 oz.  That beats WinCo's $17.43/lb by quite a bit.

Bulk Foods Misconception

There is sometimes a bulk food misconception that I want to address. You do not have to purchase in bulk quantities in order to shop in the bulk section. I think the word bulk can be misleading. Sometimes people think of bulk as shopping at Costco or Sam's Club, loading your cart up with huge quantities that you are not going to know what to do with when you get home. Stores that have a bulk section, purchase items in large quantities, but don't require that you do the same. This allows us to purchase an item at a reduced price. This saves the supplier money, time, and hassle by not having to package items in smaller quantities. Sometimes the packaging can cost as much as the actual contents.

Having the freedom to purchase an item in a desired quantity gives us the opportunity to try new things. I have walked out of Good Earth and WinCo many times with bulk food that I had never tried before in small amounts, so I could take it home, figure out how to use it, and see if I like it. Sometimes stores will offer a further price reduction on items if purchased in the large bulk bag. I believe WinCo takes 10% off an item if purchased in the 25-lb or 50-lb bag.  Also, every few months Good Earth will have a stack of 50-lb bags, generally of 6-grain or 9-grain "cereal" for roughly $25. That's only .50/lb compared to at least $1.00/lb price that is sold in the bulk containers. If you know how to use it and can store a large quantity, go for it. Before buying the 25 lb bag,  it is best to know what you are taking home.   I've seen Good Earth sell their multigrain "cereal" in the steel cut form as well as the rolls oats form. It would be disappointing to take home multi-grain cereal, assuming it was breakfast cereal where you just add milk.

On the other hand, you can purchase food in bulk quantities that are not in the bulk food section.  If something is on sale and the price is not a typical sale price, I do buy large quantities of it. Generally during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, black olives go on sale. Sale prices on black olives are frequent throughout the year, but during the holiday season, the price seems to be less. Last year I was able to pick up several cans of Black Pearls brand for .49 each. This year, the best price I've seen so far was generic for .59 each. 

Last year, Sunflower Farmer's Market had a fantastic price on asparagus.  Asparagus is loaded with nutrients and my family loves it, so I like to buy it when I can, but the price can put a cramp in the budget if I'm not careful.  Sunflower Market happened to have it on sale for .69/lb.  In my area, this price is insane. When I went to the store, I noticed the stocker was filling the display with asparagus and had several cases on his cart.  I asked if I could buy a whole case and without hesitation, he put one in my cart.  The asparagus was in perfect condition.  It was young and tender, with not many woody stalks at all.  I brought the case home, washed, cut and bagged the asparagus into gallon size freezer bags to store in my freezer and use throughout the year.

WinCo Bulk Price List

The WinCo price list is so lengthy that I gave it its own page. Feel free to click here or on the heading at the top of the page.

WinCo Foods has labeled themselves as the "supermarket low price leader".  In my opinion, certain departments carry great to reasonable prices, but you need to be aware of prices already.  Almost a year ago, I compiled two WinCo Price Lists from the bulk department; one being an all inclusive list and the other only being a condensed version. The condensed version just contained items that I was interested in purchasing.  I emailed the condensed price list to a friend so she could compare WinCo prices to other bulk suppliers.  A month or two later, I found the list popping up on different websites, not realizing it was so useful to so many people. WinCo does not spend the money to advertise, nor do they post current sales on their website.  Because of this, it's hard for people who are budget conscience to shop at WinCo blindly. People want to know if it is worth spending their gas and time at a store that may or may not have prices they are looking for.  It currently costs me $10 in gas round trip drive to my nearest WinCo. There are many stores that I can choose from that are within reasonable distance from my home, so if I want to buy something at WinCo, I want to be sure of the price.

One year ago I was an advocate of WinCo Foods to my friends and neighbors. Their bulk foods department had unbeatable prices, with a decent percentage of their food being organic.  Now a year later, the economy has changed, and so have the food prices. Their bulk prices are completely different.  Most of the nuts and seeds have had $4-$5/lb increase, certain dried fruit has had $2-$3 increase, and crazy enough, some of the items in the herbs/spices section have had a $10-$15/lb increase. Just so you don't misunderstand - it's not just WinCo's prices that soared, it was nationwide at every food store.

With that said, WinCo still has competitive prices, but I have found a handful of items at Costco that are a better price. Here are just a couple of items that carry a better price at Costco as well as a better quality:

 Item:                Winco:                       Costco:
Pistachios          $6.46/lb                    $4.99/lb
Cashews            $7.44/lb                    $6.49/lb (and dropping)
   (Whole)
Dried Apricots    $4.39/lb                     $3.15/lb
Dried Blueberries $10.73/lb                $7.98/lb (I've only seen bad reviews on Costco's blueberries, so I've never tried them. I only buy the frozen blueberries)
Craisins              $3.67/lb                   $2.16/lb
Pinenuts             $15.32/lb                  $12.67/lb
Almonds (raw)    $4.18/lb                    $3.32/lb


Of course this is not an all inclusive list, but hopefully you can get the idea. For me, it's important to familiarize myself with prices, so I can determine what is a good price and what is not. The prices used to be in my head, but when there was foretelling of significant price increase, I stocked up and built up my food storage to prepare for what was possibly to come. I purchased nuts and seeds in bulk and stored them in my freezer. Now that my supply is diminishing, I am becoming more aware of the current prices and need to re-familiarize myself with a handful of products and their current price/lb. Prices are constantly changing, so I am wondering if the drop in price with the Costco pistachios and cashews are foretelling of possible price decreases at other stores as well.

My Story

There are different ways of saving money on groceries. I have used coupons and still do occasionally, but with change in how my family eats, I have found that buying food in bulk or buying food in the bulk sections of my local grocery stores have brought us the best savings.

Being a stay at home mom & wife of a teacher has given me the opportunity to look outside the box. I wanted a healthier lifestyle for my family, but I didn’t want to break the budget doing it. I wanted to incorporate more whole grains and less meat along with healthier options for my children without the additives.  Initially, the terms organic and unrefined meant expensive.  I didn’t know how I would be able to manage a frugal budget with the prices I saw at the store, but with research and patience, I am succeeding.

For us, the key to a frugal, but healthy lifestyle is creating food from scratch. I buy my produce, grains, beans, and herbs at the best price I can find, so I can still buy the specialty items we use, which  are never on sale, and generally carry a higher price tag.  Winco and Costco are among my top local stores for bulk purchases, with Mountain Rose Herbs being one of my top choices for online purchases.