Smart Shopping for Pacific Students: Grocery Edition

Ready to go beyond The Grove? Stockton native Megan Silva shares her knowledge of local grocery stores to help you make an informed decision on where to shop.

If you’re one of the 35% of Americans who stated that one of their New Year’s resolutions was to cook more meals at home, you may have found The Grove’s selection of ingredients to be a bit lacking. The Grove is great for grabbing a quick microwaveable meal or a snack, but if you’re looking to embrace your inner chef and make a healthy, home-cooked meal, you’re going to need to venture out into Stockton and find a good grocery store for a few ingredients. I’ve lived in Stockton my entire life, and I’m here to share my thoughts on local grocery stores to help you make an informed decision on where to shop.

Trader Joe’s:

Address: 6535 Pacific Ave, Stockton, CA 95207

Oh look, they’ve got a mural of our school in there. One of the locations the Pacific Shuttle stops at is Lincoln Center, so it’s no surprise that a lot of Pacificans like this store. I do too, their seasoned popcorn is my favorite thing to get from there.

Let’s discuss their prices first: I’m going to compare Trader Joe’s to Safeway because Safeway is only a crosswalk away.

I used the store brands from both stores to conduct my research. As you can see, for many staple foods, Trader Joe’s has higher prices. They also have more random, expensive, yummy treats like those shortbread cookies with the chocolate in them. 

The store is a bit on the smaller side, and nearly everything they offer is specifically Trader Joe’s brand, so it can be harder to find what you’re looking for and harder to get a good deal.

In regards to the atmosphere, Trader Joe’s is in a safe, walkable location. The people inside are friendly, even though many of them seem to be enthralled by the selection of random, expensive, yummy treats and are therefore, prone to blocking the whole aisle or running into you with their shopping cart. 

All in all, if you’re looking for a special treat, this is a good store for that. For your staple groceries, you may be better off going to Safeway or Savemart (comparison to come in the next section).

Safeway:

Address: 6445 Pacific Ave, Stockton, CA 95207

This picture is a work of art. I found it on Google; I did not take it but I wish I did. Just a few steps from Trader Joe’s, Safeway is a large grocery store offering both name-brand selections and the store brand Signature.  

Let’s look at prices. I will be comparing Safeway’s prices to Savemart’s because Savemart is the next store I will be covering.

As you can see, Safeway, though a bit more costly than Savemart, is a reasonably priced grocery store for staple foods. Safeway has the largest selection of items out of the grocery stores I will be listing in this article. 

In regards to the atmosphere, Safeway is in a safe, walkable location. They have security guards present if you need assistance walking to your vehicle or the shuttle, or if your cart gets stuck (many grocery stores have locking mechanisms to prevent theft that unfortunately also prevent you from being able to bring your groceries to the car). It can get very busy here in the afternoons and evenings.

I used to go to Safeway a lot for pre-made meals when I attended Delta College. I still really like their selection of pre-cut fruits and vegetables. Next, let’s look at Savemart.

Savemart:

Address 1 (walking distance from Pacific): 3215 Pacific Ave, Stockton, CA 95204

Address 2 (just down the street): 7506 Pacific Ave, Stockton, CA 95207

This is it. The official grocery store of the University of the Pacific (sorry, Grove). I love this place. You can get a salmon fillet for $8.99 per pound (they’re huge, I’ve still got half of one in the freezer after making a nice dinner that I shared with my boyfriend and a friend). As you can see in the table above, this is a great store for buying a large quantity of items (not Costco large, but pretty decent sized) for a lot less money. Also, their sandwiches and other pre-made meals are very good.

As you’ve probably noticed, I listed two locations. The first location is within walking distance of Pacific. It is a relatively safe location, though the park behind the store gets very dark at night. You also need to cross a busy street to get there, so I recommend going with a friend and resisting the urge to look at your phone on the walk over.

The second location is a short drive away, in the Hammer Ranch Shopping Center. This is not a place that the Pacific Shuttle stops, so you will need access to a vehicle to get here. This location is a bit larger than the above Savemart, but has mostly the same staple products and pre-made meals. They do have a large Jelly-Belly dispenser for some reason, but that’s about the only notable difference between the two. The parking lot that this one is located in doesn’t feel quite as safe, but there are security guards that can walk you to your vehicle. 

I shop at both locations frequently, my favorite items to get are London Broil beef (for my beef and broccoli recipe), El Mexicano nacho cheese, and most recently, their spinach dip.

Bonus Store: Podestos

Address: 104 Lincoln Center, Stockton, CA 95207

Though definitely the most pricey store on this list, Podestos is a good specialty store for hard-to-find ingredients (it’s an Italian grocery store so if you’re making Italian food it’s worth a trip), pre-made meals, and baked goods, but staple items often run several dollars above Safeway and Savemart prices. Do not buy chips here. I saw someone with a University of the Pacific T-shirt doing this and I thought: “Why???”

One thing that is reasonable here is their pre-marinated meats. Their Lemongrass Chicken is $6.99 per piece of chicken, and all you need to do to prepare it is wrap it in foil, put it on a baking sheet, and throw it in the oven (The USDA recommends that you cook chicken until the internal temperature reaches 165). This will take between 25-30 minutes, so it’s an easy dinner to cook while doing your reading or working on homework.

They also have a large deli counter where you can get soup and sandwiches to go, these are reasonably priced and the portion sizes are large enough to share with a friend. Their bakery has a wide array of desserts. Macarons and mini-cheesecakes stand out as their best desserts. They are a bit on the expensive side, but great for celebrating a birthday or other special occasion.

I’ve really enjoyed sharing my grocery store thoughts with you. Let me know in the comments if I missed any, or let me know what types of stores Smart Shopping for Pacific Students should cover next.