How much do organic foods cost at different San Diego County stores? How much more does it cost to go organic?
One way to find out: Bring the same shopping list to nine stores in a three-day window in late June and see how much things cost.
If this sounds familiar, that may be because in March, The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Business team dispatched reporters and editors to log prices at 12 conventional grocery stores. That tour included bargain outlets, national chains and upscale supermarkets.
In late June, a reporter took the same list, with organic products swapped in for conventional ones, and shopped at stores that specialize in organic, natural and health foods. The stores had to have at least two local locations.
A key finding is that organic products do not always cost a lot more than conventional — though they typically do. On average, the basket of conventional foods cost $61.57. The organic basket average came out to $118.49. This was interesting: The most affordable organic basket was only a few dollars (around $5.80) more than the priciest conventional basket.
What exactly does that higher price and the “organic” label tag get you? Organic describes foods that don’t use some types of fertilizers, genetic engineering or radiation on products; organic animals are raised without growth hormones and antibiotics, and they’re fed organic food, the Mayo Clinic says. “Certified organic” means a food meets government standards for organic production.
This round of store visits was a reminder that San Diego County’s organic and healthy food grocery landscape is rich and varied.
Some specialty stores, like Jimbo’s and Barons, concentrate on organic, natural, local, wild, grass-fed, antibiotic-free, pasture-raised, zero-carbon, sustainable — giving shoppers plenty of pathways to eat food that meets their health needs or aligns with their ethics. For shoppers looking for a mix of conventional and some sustainable, organic, local and similar products, large supermarkets and some speciality stores, like Sprouts and Trader Joe’s, offer enough variety for one-stop shopping.
The price rankings are below.
The products
We chose staples that meet a variety of dietary needs in multiple categories: produce, dairy, meat, pantry supplies and one canned item. We chose goods whose prices are tracked by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, which maintains a national economic database, and with team input about items popular with San Diego food shoppers, such as tortilla chips and avocados.
To try to keep things consistent, items and quantities generally stayed the same. The original list included any kind of tuna. This time we opted for wild skipjack tuna. Also, we looked at canola oil because that was in the original list, but several stores did not stock organic canola. We found the closest substitute and mentioned it below. None of these groceries were subject to taxes.
These are the average prices for our items on our list. All are organic:
A bunch of bananas (priced per pound): $1.97
Roma tomatoes (1 pound): $3.54
Strawberries (1 pound): $6.07
Three avocados (priced per piece): $2.61
A 4.5-pound whole chicken (priced per pound): $22.46
Ground beef (85/15, priced per pound): $10.28
Gallon of whole milk: $9.02
String cheese (pack of eight): $7.62
Dozen eggs: $6.43
Unsalted butter (1 pound): $10.02
Loaf of wheat bread: $5.56
Spaghetti (1-pound box): $3.09
Oat O-shaped cereal (10- to 12-ounce box): $4.80
Tortilla chips (9- to 10-ounce bag): $4.66
Canola oil (32-ounce bottle): $13.66
Wild skipjack tuna (5-ounce can): $4.19
The survey
A reporter visited seven stores from June 25 to 27 and an eighth on July 1. A ninth store was checked online on July 1, using available in-store stock. We started with 12 stores and cut three that did not have many organic items when we visited. Ralphs and Trader Joe’s were also surveyed in March, and we included them to see how conventional grocery stores, and not just specialty stores, price organic items.
We recorded the lowest regular price. When something was out of stock, we noted the next cheapest price for an in-stock item. Sales and coupons did not factor into the rankings but are noted below.
The rankings
9. Gelson’s Market
Total: $160.28
Gelson’s on 730 Turquoise St. in San Diego, CA. (Luke Johnson / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Gelson’s Market, an Encino-based chain with one store in North Pacific Beach and another in Del Mar, is a luxury grocer packed with gourmet goods, wines and trendy items, such as branded tote bags. Among the 16 items on our list, 11 were priced higher at Gelson’s than at other stores on this shopping tour. Its most affordable organic bread, a 20-ounce loaf from Oroweat, was $6.99. This merchant has a mix of mainstream, organic and high-end brands, and its house label, Gelson’s, is woven in throughout. Organic tortilla chips by Tostitos were in the middle of the bunch, pricewise, at $5.99 for 10 ounces. Its organic canola oil, at $13.49 for 16 ounces, was among the priciest. Gelson’s butcher section is especially strong. Along with hand-trimmed chicken and steaks, it also sells rarities, including veal and heirloom whole chickens. Organic beef was not available. Instead, it sold 100% grass-fed, pasture-raised, U.S.-born Angus raised with no grains or antibiotics for $16.99 per pound, on sale for $14.99 a pound. Its lean-to-fat ratio was 90/10. Other sale items included organic whole milk ($1 off of $11.99 per gallon), cereal (8-ounce box discounted to $5.49) and tuna ($5.99, from $6.39), though these sale prices were higher than full prices at other stores. Gelson’s has a rewards program where points add up to discounts.
Takeaway: This is a premium store with quality products. Prices reflect that.
8. Jimbo’s
Total: $145.33
Jimbo’s on 12841 El Camino Real in San Diego. (Luke Johnson / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
For this basket of 16 items, Jimbo’s organic options cost considerably more than the average of $118.49. The shopping experience feels like it’s also aiming high. Along with a hot foods section and attractive bouquets, this organic supermarket sells high-end health products, aromatherapy, incense and alkaline water. Organic whole chickens ($6.49 a pound) and ground beef ($13.99 a pound) were priced higher here than at every other store visited, save for one. As at several other high-end organic markets, shoppers here can find less typical types of organic meat, including chicken livers ($8.99 a pound), ground Diestel brand turkey and Cornish hens sold by the pair ($10.99 a pound). Jimbo’s outperfomed in one category, pricewise. Its organic eggs were on the cheaper side, at $5.79 a dozen. One thoughtful detail: The store shows how close some produce was harvested. A pint of sweet, flavorful cherry tomatoes was “grown 34 miles from here” at Escondido’s J.R. Organics farm, a sign said. The San Diego company, headquartered in Carmel Valley, is opening two stores in 2028.
Takeaway: This large grocery store is an organic foodie’s playground, but this variety does not come cheap.
7. Lazy Acres
Total: $141.12
Lazy Acres Natural Market in Mission Hills had organic produce and a crowd-pleasing deli and prepared foods section. (Luke Johnson / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Lazy Acres Natural Market specializes in natural foods and aims for a relaxed vibe. At its Mission Hills store, one of two in San Diego County and six in California, the prepared foods section and deli were hopping. Its stores also sell house-made juices, smoothies and coffee. As at other high-end stores, customers must be prepared to pay for such conveniences. In general, prices were higher than average for organic stores. Its tortilla chips were priciest, at $6.29, but the bag was a lot bigger than standard: 14.75 ounces. Cereal was also priciest compared to competitors, but it was on sale (from $7.99 to $4.99 for 8.6 ounces). Its cheapest organic wheat bread, a 24-ounce loaf normally $6.50, was on sale for $5.50. This store had no organic ground beef. Instead, it sells a non-organic premium brand, raised 100% carbon neutral, antibiotic-free, with no added hormones, and raised on a regenerative farm, for $13.99 a pound. Other higher-than-average prices, among the stores visited: organic avocados from a local farm ($3.50 each), eggs from the house brand ($7.49) and beef. Bananas, tomatoes and string cheese were better values. Like Jimbo’s, Lazy Acres lets its shoppers donate a few cents to charitable causes if they bring their own bags. One more thing sets Lazy Acres apart: a good selection of locally roasted coffees from Better Buzz, Cafe Moto, Lofty Coffee, Pannikin and Steady State.
Takeaway: Convenience, prepared foods and interesting finds, like local coffee, are nice perks — that come at a cost.
6. Frazier Farms Market
Total: $121.41
Frazier Farms in La Mesa has a farmstand feel, plenty of baked goods and a small but mighty gourmet cheese section. (Luke Johnson / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Frazier Farms Market, a local small business founded in Escondido in 1971, now with three locations across San Diego County, offers a blend of whimsy, grocery staples and bulk foods, with an accent on convenience and, sometimes, value. For the whole 16-item basket, prices were close to average for this group of stores. It had the lowest-priced organic strawberries at $3.99 a pound. Organic ground beef ($8.99 a pound) was also among the cheapest, but it had more fat than elsewhere: 25% versus the 15% offered at other stores. Organic butter and spaghetti, on the pricier side among sample stores at regular price, were discounted to $9.99 and $1.99, respectively. Frazier Farms sells smoothies on demand, as well as fresh seasonal juices. It has a deli and a robust prepared foods section, and its gourmet cheese section is small but mighty. Not in this basket: a CasArrigoni Nababbo Italian goat cheese priced at $42.99 a pound. (Dense and pungent. A little goes a long way.)
Takeway: Its website says it brings “value … with the highest possible quality at competitive prices.” Prices were not among the lowest, but the store upheld its promise on our visit.
5. Sprouts Farmers Market
Total: $111.78
Sprouts Farmers Market in La Mesa carries the hallmarks of the chain’s roots as a farmstand. (Luke Johnson / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
When you walk into Sprouts Farmers Market, it immediately looks different from your usual big grocery chain. Shelf price tags have labels: organic, plant-based, gluten-free. You can buy bulk foods and healthy lifestyle magazines. It essentially tied with Barons. A different basket would have flipped their ranks. Sprouts had the cheapest organic eggs for $4.99 and the next-cheapest organic milk for $7.49. At the La Mesa store, a buy one, get one half-off sale applied to organic strawberries by the pound ($6.99), tortilla chips ($4.99 for a 9-ounce bag), ground beef ($9.99 for a pound) and plenty of items not on our list. Its deli sandwiches and house brand offered some good values. Organic canola oil came in 24-ounce bottles and, at $8.29, was pricier than some larger bottles at other stores. The Sprouts chain has preserved some of its original farmstand charm. The company was founded in San Diego by the Boney family, whose descendants now own Windmill Farms and Bayside Market — independent natural markets in Del Cerro and Coronado, respectively.
Takeaway: Prices at this Phoenix-based grocer, a public company with hundreds of stores across the U.S. and a farmstand aesthetic, fell right in the middle of the natural and organic stores sampled.
4. Barons Market
Total: $111.48
Along with organic and natural produce, Barons Market has special treats like an olive oil and vinegar stand and free samples. (Luke Johnson / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Barons Market, with stores across San Diego County and a handful in Riverside County, looks like an upscale market with wooden crates, healthy potted plants for sale, a gourmet olive oil and vinegar station and an antipasto bar. But prices for our 16-item organic basket fell somewhere in the middle — and tied with Sprouts. Barons had the cheapest organic avocados ($1.29 each), second-cheapest organic strawberries ($4.99) and organic ground beef ($7.99), but the priciest organic butter ($11.99). It did not sell whole organic chickens, so we priced organic drumsticks ($4.99 a pound). Along with some good values, which include its $8.99 rotisserie chicken, Barons has some special treats, like pastries and bread delivered daily from Bread & Cie, California Mountain Bakery Pies from Santa Ysabel ($22.99), an olive bar and fruit samples. Its house brand, Barons Market, covers a lot of ground. The store’s selection of conventional items is thin, so don’t come here looking for Takis. The company says as much: “Sorry, you won’t find supermarket items here, but we like it that way. Best yet, we’ve negotiated fiercely to bring you these quality items at the lowest possible prices every single day.”
Takeaway: If you’re focusing on local and organic, you’ll find low to moderate prices at Barons, plus a bunch of alluring treats.
3. Ralphs
Total: $102.50
A Ralphs Fresh Fare store at 8657 Villa La Jolla Drive, in La Jolla. (Roxana Popescu / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Organic prices at Ralphs were among the lowest of these nine stores. The company’s rewards program brings some prices down further. A few notes: Organic whole chicken and organic string cheese were out of stock. Other cuts of organic chicken were available, but we used the online price for organic whole chicken. This store, like others, did not have organic canola oil. It did sell 16-ounce bottles of organic peanut oil for $18.99, but we instead stuck with conventional canola in this price check. Swapping in 32 ounces of peanut oil as an organic substitute would have added around $38 to the total bill. Ralphs also only sold 8-ounce packages of unsalted butter. We doubled that price to match the price per pound at other stores. Organic avocados ($1.67 each), organic strawberries ($4.99), organic wheat bread ($4.99; the cheapest one was out of stock), organic spaghetti ($1.99), organic cereal ($3.99 for 12 ounces) and tortilla chips ($2.99 for 9 ounces, private label) were all at the low end of the price range, though not the cheapest. At other stores, 10-ounce bags of Late July chips were priced from $4.99 to $5.39. We also checked prices in March at this grocery store, owned by Kroger. In that crop of 12, Ralphs ranked ninth, meaning it was on the higher end of the price spectrum when sales and loyalty club discounts weren’t factored in. The total for that basket — with the same items, but conventional: $69.59.
Takeaway: For people shopping for organic, with or without conventional items, this mainstream grocery store offers a good selection of organic foods at a good value.
2. Whole Foods
Total: $101.63
Whole Foods Market, with locations across the U.S., including this one on North Park, has organic options and lower-than-average prices, among sampled stores. (Luke Johnson / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Long ago dubbed Whole Paycheck by shoppers frustrated with its high prices, Whole Foods, owned by Amazon, came in second most affordable on our list. It had some of the lowest prices for the items in our basket. A box of Organic Morning O’s cereal ($4.59) was cheaper than (non-organic) Cheerios ($5.79), both per ounce and by package price. Like Ralphs, Whole Foods didn’t have organic canola oil in stock, so we went with conventional ($5.99 for 32 ounces). Its organic version was also $5.99, but for 16 ounces. (Organic canola oil was in stock several days later.) The store’s organic bananas (89 cents a pound), eggs ($5.49 a dozen), wheat bread ($3.29), butter ($7.49 a pound) and pasta ($1.49) were either cheapest or tied for cheapest, and its organic bananas, string cheese, butter and tuna were second cheapest. Its private label organic chips were another good value, at $3.99 for 14 ounces; bags at that price at other stores were smaller, and a 14.75-ounce bag of Late July at Lazy Acres was $6.29. Nothing on our list was on sale, but these regular prices beat sale prices at other stores.
1. Trader Joe’s
Total: $81.29
A Trader Joe’s grocery store in San Diego. (Roxana Popescu / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Trader Joe’s, with 20 stores in San Diego County, including two in the works, is the other store we sampled in March and June. On this second visit, a reporter checked both organic and conventional prices. The price for our 16-item conventional basket was unchanged over time, with some item prices rising and others falling: $56.56 in March and $56.84 in June. Prices of organic foods at Trader Joe’s were far lower than average. A tradeoff is that it didn’t have the brand and product variety among organic products as at pricier specialty stores. But if you’re looking for quality and value, and you’re not set on a specific brand (or hunting for unusual meats outside what this store already offers), then Trader Joe’s is a standout. Organic avocados cost $1.79 a piece. Organic whole milk was $6.99 a gallon. Organic ground beef was $8.99 a pound. A 22-ounce loaf of whole wheat organic bread was $3.29. One quirk: It did not have an organic liquid canola oil, but it had an organic canola oil spray in nearly 5-ounce cans ($2.99). We compromised and chose conventional canola ($3.49), as we did at Ralphs and Whole Foods. It also didn’t sell an organic O-style cereal, so this basket includes a substitute: organic corn flakes ($2.99 for 12 ounces). Eleven organic items were cheapest (or tied) among sampled stores. (We didn’t consider the liquid canola oil since it wasn’t organic).
Takeaway: Trader Joe’s is a standout for organic staples. It had every item on our list. Its prices for organic foods were consistently the most affordable.