The Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs notifies the public of its Thanksgiving holiday food basket survey findings, which were completed on Nov. 9 on St. Thomas, Nov. 10 on St. Croix, and Nov. 15 on St. John. The holiday food basket survey is designed to inform consumers which stores have the best prices on grocery items typically used for a Thanksgiving meal. The number of items compared on each island varies as a result of comparison guidelines that require that items are identical in order to produce a valid survey.
St. Croix
On St. Croix five stores were surveyed: Pueblo Golden Rock and La Reine, Plaza Extra stores in Christiansted and Frederiksted, and Stop & Shop. A total of 27 of the same items were compared at each location. The difference between the highest and lowest priced basket for November was $17.30.
Some of the items that made up the holiday food basket for St. Croix included: flour, sugar, corn meal, cabbage, broccoli, celery, onion, potatoes, chick peas, pumpkin, blueberry filling, mayonnaise, evaporated milk, butter, mild cheddar cheese, turkey gravy, and egg nog.
The lowest priced market basket was found at Plaza Extra’s Christiansted location with a basket cost of $66.13. Plaza Extra’s Frederiksted location came in second with a food basket cost of $66.9, 80 cents more than its counterpart location. Stop & Shop came in third with a market basket cost of $70.14. Pueblo’s Golden Rock location came in fourth with a food basket cost of $79.33. Closing out the survey and coming in fifth was Pueblo’s La Reine location with a market basket cost of $83.43.
St. Thomas
On St. Thomas four stores were surveyed: Plaza Extra, Food Center, and Pueblo supermarkets in Long Bay and Sub Base. A total of 36 of the same items were compared at each location. The difference between the highest and lowest priced holiday food basket was $13.06
Some of the items that made up the holiday food basket for St. Thomas included: sweet potatoes, cabbage, fresh pumpkin, onions, celery, green banana, green peppers, butter, potatoes, elbow macaroni, flour, pigeon peas, chicken stuffing mix, cranberry juice, raisins, adobo seasoning, mayonnaise, cornish hen, sparkling cider, vegetable oil, corn meal, sofrito, cloves, pie ready crust, bread crumbs, diced tomato, tomato paste, vanilla extract, cream liquor.
The lowest priced holiday food basket was found at Food Center with a basket cost of $127.24. Plaza Extra came in second with a cost of $129.24. Pueblo’s Sub Base and Long Bay locations came in third and fourth respectively with food basket costs of $139.30, and$140.30, $1 more than its counterpart location.
St. John
On St. John three stores were surveyed: Dolphin Market, Starfish Market, and Pine Peace Mini Mart. A total of 21 of the same items were compared at each location. The difference between the highest and lowest priced food basket for September was $4.60.
Some of the items that made up the holiday basket for St. John included: sweet potatoes, cabbage, fresh pumpkin, celery, onions, potatoes, green banana, plantain, chicken mix stuffing, turkey gravy, baking powder, vegetable oil, and evaporated milk.
The lowest priced food basket was found at Dolphin Market with a basket cost of $37.05. Star Fish Market came in second with a food basket cost of $41.47. Coming in third was Pine Peace Market with a holiday basket cost of $41.65.