Are you looking for easy ways to incorporate money savings tips? Grocery shopping can seriously rack up the bills if you’re not paying attention to the items you’re purchasing, or worse—shopping on an empty stomach. There are small adjustments you can make during your next supermarket run to ensure you’re not shocked at the total when you’re checking out.

Here are tips and tricks to save money while grocery shopping.

Download Grocery Apps 

Check out grocery apps to compare flyers, coupons, and prices all in one place! These apps do all of the work, so you don’t have to. Some even have points programs and cash-back incentives.

Stick To Your Grocery List

Thoroughly plan out your grocery list before heading out to the stores and be sure to stick to it. Following your detailed list will stop you from spending unnecessary money on items you probably don’t need. Skip the snack isle and avoid browsing sections of the store that don’t have the foods on your list.

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Know Food Prices

Be sure to have an idea of the prices of the foods you are buying regularly. This will help you figure out when prices go up or down, or even compare prices between other grocery stores to score the best deal possible.

Shop The “Reduced” Section

Don’t forget to make a stop by the “reduced” section at your local grocery shop. You’ll typically find ripe produce that is great for baking or making smoothies—at a much cheaper cost. You could even get day-old bread that’s still good for eating or even making croutons and French toast! This is your chance to get creative in the kitchen while saving some cash.

Stock Up On Coupons

If your go-to grocer has flyers handy in-store or online, be sure to browse before heading out. Never miss out on deals on items that are on your list.

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Shop the store brand

Typically, the no-name or store brand is just as good as other brands, without the higher price tag. Save money this way especially when shopping for pasta, canned goods, and produce.

Sales Days

The next time you’re grocery shopping, ask an employee which day they usually have sales on, so you can learn when the best time is to visit. This can help you plan out your trips better and receive awesome discounts while you’re at it!

Shop At “Cheaper” Grocery Stores

It’s no secret that grocery stores like Fortinos and Longos are more expensive to shop at than grocery stores like No Frills and Walmart. If you’re trying to save money while stocking up – shopping at budget grocery stores is the way to go.

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Price Match

Check if any grocery stores around you price match! This way no matter where you’re shopping, you know you’ll always be getting the lowest possible price.

Don’t Over-Stock

Going hand-in-hand with making a grocery list and sticking to it, ensure you know how many groceries you actually need. All too often we over-stock and end up having to throw out expired food. Which is super wasteful and can be easily avoided. When in doubt, less is more. You can always go back out if you need more groceries.

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We have some sad news for fellow Canadians with a sweet tooth. Little Debbie snacks are no longer available in Canada. Multiple reports have indicated this. 

It’s time to say goodbye to Little Debbie’s Honey Buns, Swiss Rolls, Mini Brownies, and every other delicious sweet snack from the brand. 

What will kids have as a sweet treat in their lunch boxes now? 

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This decision was not one made by the Little Debbie brand. Their sole distributor in Canada chose to terminate their business relationship. CTV reports.

Unfortunately, it looks like this situation isn’t going to change anytime soon. So, if you want to indulge in a Little Debbie’s snack, you’re going to have to find it elsewhere. 

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Farm Boy has definitely become a total fan-favourite when it comes to choosing a go-to grocer. Aside from all of the fresh produce, vegan items, and meat and dairy products, it also carries a variety of delicious condiments, snacks, cereals, and more. Plus, you’ll find that a majority of the products are labeled under Farm Boy’s own brand, which is all made in Ontario.

Here are our fave items that you need to purchase at Farm Boy.

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A new Farm Boy will open in Downtown Toronto on January 28— its 36th location in Canada! The shop can be found at 29 Bathurst Street.

Farm Boy reported in 2019 that part of its growth strategy involved major plans of expansion throughout southern Ontario.

If you’re unfamiliar with Farm Boy, it’s basically a Canadian version of Trader Joe’s, which is all the rage in the USA for those looking for organic produce and a salad bar.

Facebook/Farm Boy

The store floor spans a whopping 33,478 square feet and will carry organic and plant-based foods, fresh dairy products, meat products, a Village Juicery kiosk, and so much more.

Plus, it’ll have pizza, grill, and sushi stations to enjoy. 

“Torontonians are telling us that they are really enjoying our Farm Boy stores in Toronto and based on customer requests, we are excited to continue expanding our footprint and presence in the downtown core,” said Jean-Louis Bellemare, President and General Manager, Farm Boy in a press release

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This Farm Boy will be the third location in downtown Toronto, which follows last year’s opening at 777 Bay Street. 

Additional Farm Boy Toronto openings in 2021 include 5245 Dundas West, 740 Dupont Avenue, and 207 Queens Quay West. 

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With street-facing retailers slowly starting to reopen for curbside pickup, Toronto’s shipping container market, Stackt, has launched an online shopping experience in order to start serving the public.

Shoppers can now browse goods from a variety of local businesses, as well as distributors that work with local farmers and urban markets on Stackt’s online store. Payments are made through the website and shoppers have the option of collecting via foot or drive-thru.

Stackt

The Stackt Click + Collect program is perfect for those who want to support local businesses during this unprecedented time.

From locally-sourced produce and protein options to Belgian Moon beers, DIY cocktail kits, and takeout eats from Conspiracy Pizza, Victor Restaurant, and JoyBird Dim Sum, all is available at the click of a button. Once you make your purchase, all you have to do is choose a time slot for your contactless pickup. Those on foot can grab their pickup at 28 Bathurst St. while those in cars can grab orders from 3 Tecumseth St.

The new service is not only safe and convenient but charitable, too. Each purchase has a pickup fee associated with it and all pickup fees go to The Stop, a west-end Toronto nonprofit that provides healthy food to those in need. There’s also the option to “Pay It Forward” and donate a food box to The Stop Food Community Services.

stackt click + Collect
Facebook/Stackt

While Stackt’s online shopping is running, the public space remains closed for now.

“Once the emergency declaration is lifted, we will introduce our new site plans that will address supporting a safe environment and allow our community to enjoy Stackt’s public space again,” Matt Rubinoff, the founder of Stackt said in a release. “Our goal right now is to support our Stackt partners, the community, and increase access to local businesses in a safe way.”

To learn more about Stackt’s new online shopping service, visit www.stackt.com/click-and-collect.

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Staying home for isolation doesn’t mean you have to eat canned food every night — there are still plenty of local grocery delivery services that will drop food off on your doorstep, including a Toronto farmers market that recently announced it’s going digital!

Kendal Hills Farm just opened a virtual farmers market.

The virtual farmers market features pretty much everything you’d get at your local market, sans the human contact. Online you’ll find meats, vegetables, fruits, eggs, bread, and much more. And while we’ll certainly miss interacting with local makers and farmers, the Kendal Hills Farm platform is a great way to continue supporting them.

kendal hills farm
Instagram/@kendalhillsfarm

The online farmers market is open to shop 24/7.

However, no-contact deliveries are only made three days a week: Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Delivery to West Toronto (west of Bathurst) is on Thursdays, delivery to East GTA (Toronto east of Bathurst, Scarborough, Pickering, and Ajax) is on Fridays, and delivery in Clarington and surrounding area (Whitby, Oshawa, and Bowmanville) is on Sundays.

As the Kendal Hills Farm online farmers market gets settled, shoppers can expect other fun things like live music, children’s activities, and more.

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Home to all things upscale, Yonge and Bloor will be getting a brand new gourmet grocery store within the upcoming weeks.

Celebrity chef Mark McEwan — the man behind notable restaurants like Fabbrica, ONE, and Bymark — will be opening a third location of his gourmet grocery store in the 1 Bloor Street East retail podium.

Set to open January 2019, McEwan’s Yonge and Bloor will span over 17,000-square-feet.

The massive gourmet grocery store will take up the entire concourse level and act as the anchor of the intersection. For those who have never been to a McEwan’s before, which has locations at Shops at Don Mills and in the Financial District’s PATH, the grocery store merges grocery shopping with restaurant dining.

The grocerant, as the McEwan Group calls it, will feature top-class products and elevated prepared meals, making it a high-end shopping and food destination for those who work, play, and live in the area.

Mcewan's yonge bloor

Moncur Design Associates Inc.

McEwan’s Yonge and Bloor will host a number of exciting new features.

In addition to the gourmet grocery store’s regular features, shoppers can expect a number of new features, too. Features expected to accompany the Yonge and Bloor location include McEwan’s Cafe, Fabbrica Pizza, a carving station and rotisserie (offering prime rib, porchetta, brisket, and more), a sushi bar, a hot and cold table, a salad and sandwich station, and a dry ageing room.

Visitors will also be able to shop McEwan’s diverse cheese and deli program, daily deliveries of seafood, and market-fresh produce.

McEwan's Yonge Bloor

Courtesy of The McEwan Group

The new gourmet grocery store will be a welcome addition to Toronto’s busiest intersection.

With ample parking and plenty of seating, there’s no doubt that the grocery store will be a hit.

Bloor and Yonge is set to see many changes over the next few years. The area is rumoured to soon be home to a 20,000-square-foot Apple store, and will soon also welcome a new Over The Rainbow, an updated Birks, and Canada’s first Eataly.

Featured Image: McEwan’s TD via Instagram/@mcewanfoods

With news that popular Ottawa-based grocer Farm Boy has been purchased by Sobey’s, it’s no surprise that an expansion is on its way.  Shortly after news of the acquisition came to light, Farm Boy announced that Toronto will soon be home to a second Farm Boy location.

The first GTA-based location popped up in Etobicoke earlier this year, and the new store is set to open in winter 2019. The new location will span 20,000 + square feet and will be located at 1015 Lake Shore Blvd East and will create 130 jobs in that area.

Farm Boy prides itself on being able to offer plentiful varieties of farm fresh produce, butcher-quality meats, fine cheeses and dairy. In addition to your standard groceries, Farm Boy also has an extensive offering of ready-made food straight from the Farm Boy Kitchen.

What’s Farm Boy Like? 

Farm Boy caters to busy shoppers that are looking to eat well and that are looking to incorporate high-quality foods into their hectic lives.  While the ready-made food is great for takeaway, the new store will also include a made-to-order fresh grilling station that will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner with excellent daily features.

Get excited for another great place to get food in Toronto.

If you’ve been paying attention to the food scene in the GTA you may have started to notice the prevalence and the quality of Filipino Cuisine. Access to Filipino food is about to reach the masses as our friends at Retail-Insider are reporting that California-based Filipino grocery chain Seafood City is planning a major expansion across Canada in conjunction with fast food powerhouse Jollibee.

While there isn’t a whole lot of information on this incident, we always know our readers like to read a weird retail story, and he’s another one!  A Reddit user by the name of blankorison took to Reddit yesterday to post about a Black Widow spider found in a head of broccoli claimed to be purchased at a  FreshCo. grocery store in Toronto.

Photo by Reddit User: blankorison

All that was posted was a description of what happened and the offending spider caught in a photograph.  While users on Reddit point out that a Black Widow bite is rarely fatal to healthy adults, it’s not really the type of thing you want to find in your food.  Initially, there was concern about where the spider came from, but if you do some minor research you’ll discover that the Northern Black Widow spider (Latrodectus mactans) is actually common in the North Eastern United States and South Eastern Canada.  Regardless, we are all trying to eat a little healthier this new year, so finding a spider in your vegetables isn’t helping anyone.