I am the other guy Don mentioned in his post the other day. We took a “trip field” to JR Produce to get ready for the challenge. I don’t know about you but we consume A LOT of milk at home, and during our trip field I had a clear objective, buy and compare the price of milk.

In our way there, we were looking for other local alternatives. First we stop at a “Tortilleria” on Montana close to Piedras but once inside the store we realized the place was too small, and almost no produce. Finally we arrived at JR Produce on Montana almost with Raynolds. Don, being as prepared as he is, brought a copy of the Homegrown Directory with him, since he wanted to talk to the owner into Homegrown. But as soon as we got into the stored he realized that his language impairment was going to be a problem, so he handed out the copy to me.

Anyways, the place is very…. El Paso! It feels a little bit crowded but I think this just adds something to it. As soon as I came in I saw the Milk fridges, but instead of rushing to them I took my time to see what was in the store and to check out the prices. I am the one in charge of doing grocery shopping at home so I am somehow used to “regular” prices at the chain stores. I noticed the produce was a little bit cheaper, but since those prices change pretty much daily I didn’t pay much attention.

I arrived at the Milk fridges and I was surprised about the prices. I have to be honest here I thought the prices were going to be a little bit higher than at the chain store. In my twisted mind I always thought that since chains were able to buy bigger quantities, the y would get a bigger deal, which is probably true, but they also have to pay higher rent, more employees, higher electricity bills, etc…  A gallon of Price’s Milk is usually somewhere between 3.20 – 3.50. It is rarely less than 3.00. Well, at JR Produce a Price’s gallon of milk is $2.50. That is at least 22% cheaper.

I am not saying that everything is cheaper at JR Produce, it is probably not. However I think a lot of things are. So if you save a few dollars, in most products and over pay in some others, you are still very likely to end up saving, and with this economy who can afford not to save?

After I was pleasantly surprised, and happy about my savings. I looked for someone who worked at the store, so I could ask her if the place was locally owned (who knows may be I was not a local place). Yes, they are local. Another victory during the challenge.

The only problem is that for people who live in the west side their locations are not very convenient, unless you go to the east side often.

I may do another experiment and do my regular grocery shopping there next week. I will keep you updated.