Saving money at the Amish country store

Today we visited a little Amish country store about 14 miles from here. Amish/Mennonite stores can be great places to stock up on bulk spices, grains, etc. I was about out of yeast, so it was time to make a trip. Ironically enough, right afterwards we had to stop at Walmart to pick up something else, so I compared the prices of what we’d just bought to see what the savings were. Some of the amounts were different, so I converted into equal amounts. The largest yeast for sale at Walmart, for example, is a 4 oz jar for $3.56 – just 1/4^th the size, but almost a dollar more! I also discovered that the tax was less at the Amish store, probably since it isn’t inside city limits.

Even if I add in the cost for my gas ($1.63 per gallon here today), the foods at the Amish store come out nearly $20 less than the equal amounts at Walmart would. I also bought a few items that I didn’t see at Walmart: ABC pasta (like in alphabet soup), couscous, and chicken noodle seasoning (a half pound bag for $1.39). Hopefully over the Thanksgiving weekend I can compare this Amish store to a Mennonite grocery a little further away that has a larger selection.

	Amish store	Price for equal amount at Walmart
Instant dry yeast	$2.75/1 lb	$14.24/ 1 lb
Italian seasoning	$0.39 / 1 oz	$0.57 / 1 oz
Whole wheat flour	$1.99 / 5 lbs	$2.76 / 5 lbs
Dill weed	$0.49 / 1 oz	$2.96 / 1 oz
Dried onion flakes	$0.89 / 4 oz	$1.00 / 4 oz
Instant pudding	$1.19 / 1 lb	$2.00 / 1 lb
Bananas	$0.89 / 2.7 lb	$1.84 / 2.7 lb
Apples, red delicious	$1.84 / 4.7 lb	$3.74 / 4.7 lb
Tax	$0.32 (3.1%)	$1.41 (4.85%)
Total	$10.75	$30.52