[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

I don't know where you shop, but that is not true. I buy only "fresh from Florida" produce at my beautiful new Publix. Strawberries are from Wish Farms in Plant City and that includes organic. In fact, wherever possible Publix offers local produce, again, including organic. Not saying it's cheap, but there are often sales on it or other things that offset the price. If it's not local it's because it is out of season or otherwise unavailable. Even ALDI sells a lot of local produce.

Some here just like to hear themselves whine.....

P.S. Florida is not even in the TOP 10

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/the-...yours-stack-up

I work part time at Publix still. In my region, SWFL it's only the Driscoll and other national company types of packaged produce mostly. I usually drive to Farmer Joe's in Cape Coral for fresher meat and produce. Farmer Joes is similar to Seed to Table, except bigger and larger meat selection and he gets a lot of his produce from Alfie since they're friends.

Since Farmer Joe's opened I hardly ever buy produce or meat at Publix or Walmart anymore. Besides Farmer Joe's is cheaper than Publix on some stuff.

[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

You must have lived in a remote vacuum given the massive size and number of real farmers markets in the Northeast. The quality of produce and diversity of product offered far exceeds what is seen in Florida as well as accessibility. Florida relies heavily on produce from Mexico and California despite being a leading producer of Tomatoes for example, which are weirdly sent out of state mostly as grocers like Publix look for the cheapest options available.

Florida Tomatoes suck! I prefer Tomatoes from Tennessee, Missouri, etc grown in soil. They just taste different.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by MOforthewin

Florida Tomatoes suck! I prefer Tomatoes from Tennessee, Missouri, etc grown in soil. They just taste different.

Florida soil is trash. That's the key difference. I remember in Canada, the soil was naturally thick, black and rich.

[Ghaati]

We get Plant City strawberries during strawberry season at our Publix and Winn Dixie stores. But, our community also has a huge Strawberry Festival, which features Plant City strawberries.

We also have our own hydroponic farm, and our local Publix has a section of The Villages Grown produce on the shelves. Stupidly expensive, but if you're a foodie who can tell the difference between hydroponically grown arugula and soil-grown arugula then it's an option here.

[gemstone1]

Originally Posted by Arcenal813

Yes… And a lot of them are exported.
Next time you buy citrus, check and see where it was grown. Highly unlikely it came from Florida.
Most of our strawberries aren’t from Florida either, despite having our own farms here.

Needless to say, apples and bananas don’t come from here either.

And… I have no idea what the heck that first sentence was about lol… What..?

I read the labels on my food. That’s all. Most produce in our stores is not Florida grown. I see more Florida-grown produce in stores out of state than I do here.
Economics at works.

Yes indeed economics works. I'm not shopping in Florida, so I can't determine what local shoppers are seeing on the grocery shelves....but the only reason a grower/distributor would export his/her produce from Florida, and be saddled with additional transportation costs, would be for financial gain. Meaning shoppers in the importing states are willing to pay more for the produce than Florida shoppers....which would suggest that at least as far as produce is concerned, groceries are cheaper in Florida.

On the other issue of grocery expenditures, for a family of 3, sometimes 4, I spent $600 last month. We eat 99% of meals at home, and are somewhat of an anomaly...we grind our flour and bake all of our own bread, and have egg layers in the backyard.

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by Lincolnian

Win Dixie and Walmart are the only competitors to Publix in the area. They are nearly the same or more than Publix item for item.

At least on the east coast of Florida, between West Palm and Miami few items (or services) are cheaper than most places in New England. None of this is a deal breaker for me. The weather and sunshine in the dead of winter is more than worth a few extra bucks at Publix.

I shop at Aldi and WalMart, but my wife goes to Publix for a few items and I accompany her sometimes, so I see the Publix prices

I'd say Aldi's 33% less than Publix, but of course Aldi doesn't have near the range of selection, & Aldi's sells mostly private brands.

Wal Mart here runs ~20% less than Publix, and has a wider array of products.

Winn-Dixi is the closest store to me, but I seldom go there. Their prices are on par w/ Publix, except their sale items. Their liquor store prices are much lower than Publix though.

I miss Kroger up in Atlanta.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by gemstone1

Yes indeed economics works. I'm not shopping in Florida, so I can't determine what local shoppers are seeing on the grocery shelves....but the only reason a grower/distributor would export his/her produce from Florida, and be saddled with additional transportation costs, would be for financial gain. Meaning shoppers in the importing states are willing to pay more for the produce than Florida shoppers....which would suggest that at least as far as produce is concerned, groceries are cheaper in Florida.

On the other issue of grocery expenditures, for a family of 3, sometimes 4, I spent $600 last month. We eat 99% of meals at home, and are somewhat of an anomaly...we grind our flour and bake all of our own bread, and have egg layers in the backyard.

~$600/month is roughly what I spend for our family of 3 also (me and two boys in their early teens.) But I would think I am on the higher end of the spectrum, considering I highly doubt the average Floridian is buying whole organic chickens and whatnot, and doing most of their shopping at places like Sprouts and Whole Foods.

As a matter-of-fact, if I were to properly plan my grocery shopping (I don't... I kind of just... go) I would end up spending even less than that.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

I don't know where you shop, but that is not true. I buy only "fresh from Florida" produce at my beautiful new Publix. Strawberries are from Wish Farms in Plant City and that includes organic. In fact, wherever possible Publix offers local produce, again, including organic. Not saying it's cheap, but there are often sales on it or other things that offset the price. If it's not local it's because it is out of season or otherwise unavailable. Even ALDI sells a lot of local produce.

Some here just like to hear themselves whine.....

P.S. Florida is not even in the TOP 10

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/the-...yours-stack-up

Says the person shopping at Publix in Lakeland, where you can throw a rock and hit Publix HQ.

I lived in Sanford-Lake Mary, an upscale suburb of Orlando within minutes of four Publix stores none of which had any kind of selection of "grown in Florida" despite repeated requests. Green Beans, Citrus and some niche produce items like sprouts were local but beyond consistently all out of state or Mexico/Canada.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by MOforthewin

Florida Tomatoes suck! I prefer Tomatoes from Tennessee, Missouri, etc grown in soil. They just taste different.

Growing up in FL I never had a "real" tomato until I lived in Philly and drove out one weekend to a farmstand in NJ where they had cut up some tomatoes to sample. I swear I nearly wept...you could eat one like an apple with a little salt on it. Amazing!

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Growing up in FL I never had a "real" tomato until I lived in Philly and drove out one weekend to a farmstand in NJ where they had cut up some tomatoes to sample. I swear I nearly wept...you could eat one like an apple with a little salt on it. Amazing!

NJ tomatoes, Michigan cherries, Florida peaches, Connecticut pears, Iowa corn, California artichokes, Maine blueberries............makes you wonder why we can never ever find this kind of stuff in Florida grocery stores.

Yet you set foot in an HEB in Austin or a Kroger in Atlanta or a Winco Foods in Vegas and there it all is.......guess Floridians just aren't willing to pay the big bucks for quality produce that other states do.