Community Chat

[ScrapHappy]

I've been to Aldi's a couple of times.  Trying to like it as much as most people.  I didn't find their prices all that great.  In most cases I can do the same or better at Kroger with sales and BOGO's at Publix.  My sister, however, likes to shop at  Aldi's a lot.

[4kitties]

I agree, location is everything!  Especially now with the gas prices.  I do not think I would shop at any store very often if I had to travel a distance to get there.  

My Aldi is very close to two other stores and I can get everything I need within walking distance of each store!  

[Ainhisg]

I used to start my weekly grocery trip by going to Aldi, which is 3 miles away through many stoplights.  Then I would head to Wal-Mart and a local grocery store to finish off my list.  During the pandemic, I started using Wal-Mart pickup and couldn't have been happier.  After things returned to normal (as much as they will ever be), I went to Aldi to buy some things that we like from there.  Wow.  What a change in quality in many of the items, and the prices had gone up, up, up!  They started using different suppliers for some of their staples.  Case in point.  I use refried beans in a few recipes.  Bought a can at Aldi, and when I opened it, there were few beans, some smashed beans, and a lot of water...I mean a lot!  Thank goodness I had a can I had purchased at Wal-Mart.  Other things that I used to get there were the same way.  I figured by the time I spent my gas (especially now), wear and tear on my car, and my time to go to all those stores, plus the quality of their line seems to have gone down, I am better off using Wal-Mart pickup (1 mile away) and going to a local store to buy meat and a few other things.  Everything has gone up in all the stores, but unfortunately, I found the quality went down at Aldi.  Their bread molds quickly and so do their fruits.  This is just my experience.

[AnnieBelle]

I enjoy shopping Aldi.  I agree, they may be limited in some choices of groceries but as I'm shopping for just my husband and myself, we don't have the same grocery needs that a young family might.  I'm flexible in what we need for the week. 

The Aldi stores I have shopped have a very nice selection of fresh produce at prices better than local supermarkets.  Other favorites include the fresh salmon, lamb when available, marinated pork or turkey tenderloins.  They have some great dips, hummus varieties, cheeses, some tasty frozen food finds.  We like several of their frozen fish varieties. 

It may not be as easy to shop Aldi as a supermarket - you need a quarter for the cart, bags are not provided, you need to bag your own groceries from the cart.  I enjoy grocery shopping so I don't begrudge the time I spend doing it. 

If nothing else, be open minded and give it a try to see how it works for you.

[4kitties]

@Ainhisg 

I am sorry to hear this about your store.  Maybe it just depends on the local suppliers and bakeries that some of the stores use????

I have seen no difference in the quality of any items purchased at my Aldi.  I sometimes buy their bread and it is the same as it has been for years.  Same for the buns I sometimes buy there.  

[tototwo]

I suppose every Aldi is different. We went to ours once. It was filthy dirty for one thing. Plus, it was early in the pandemic - even tho there were signs on the doors and in the parking lot that stated "face masks required," no one inside the store had a mask on, including the employees. I walked down 2 aisles then left quickly, never to return.

[millieshops]

I shop Aldi's occasionally -  one item I buy every time I go is a box of Crispy Oats.  They have no sugar in them but still manage to be quite a good replacement for Cheerios.  Every other cold cereal they carry in my Aldi's is loaded with sugar.

I also buy fresh veggies quite often and occasionally fruit.  As with every market, selection and quality csn vary -  prices, too.

The only Aldi's near me isn't really all that far away but I do have several other supermarkets closer.  I didn't even realize they had opened anywhere close to me until they'd been there for more than a year!  I was very pleasantly surprised the store is well lighted, well organized, clean, etc. 

The Aldi's I knew elsewhere when I was a snowbird was not at all similar to this one --  not at all a pleasant place to shop for much at all.  I had to be in its neigborhood for some other reason.  Didn't even investigate the last few years I was on LI.

[CelticCrafter]

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@4kitties wrote:

I agree, location is everything!  Especially now with the gas prices.  I do not think I would shop at any store very often if I had to travel a distance to get there.  

My Aldi is very close to two other stores and I can get everything I need within walking distance of each store!  

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Our Aldi is one parking lot away from the regular supermarket and then we have Lidl just across the highway from both of them.

If they were farther away I'm not sure we would go once a week.  

[Magicrat]

I'm a brand name freak.  Don't trust anything that's not. (Foodwise).

[scatcat]

Organic ground beef

Organic Kale

12 grain bread

White cheddar cheese 

knock off ritz and wheat thins are good and cheap

Frozen hash browns and French fries 

Their prices on name brand stuff is not great 

No "s" in Aldi