The stores I go to are Albertson's, Safeway, Grocery Outlet, Ralph's Red Apple, QFC, Trader Joe's, Fred Meyer's, Winco, Central Market, and sometimes the Walmart superstore.
Except for Walmart and Central Market, all these stores are in a circle of about 14 miles around. I go to the Walmart and Central Market (pricy) if I need something special and I'm in the area - they're about 17 miles north of me.
I pick up tuna, butter, and cream cheese at Trader Joe's, plus some odds and ends I might need.
Now Safeway has bought out Albertson's and the QFC near me has closed. If there's something really good at the other QFC, I'll go 7 miles the other way and stop at the Albertson's on the way home, skipping Safeway.
Otherwise, Safeway and Albertson's are on rotation with each other and I always end up going to Winco because they have such good prices. Ralph's is right up the street from Winco and has some really good meat specials sometimes.
Grocery Outlet will sometimes have bacon and other meats on special (on special is the only way I can afford them).
Fred Meyer's is such a large store (like a Target that has groceries), that it's a pain to park and find anything because they have a large grocery area. Their week to week sales are also not in sync with the other stores which turn over on Wednesday, but occasionally that have some good deal there that I'll get.
The Dollar Store is where I get things like dish soap, hand soap, napkins, etc. I do buy toilet paper, freezer bags, and paper towels at Winco, though, because I get a better deal for more quality.
On Tuesday night I will write up a list of what I'm out of and what I need. Then I go online and check out each of the stores and see what their sales are. Anything I can't find on sale I get at Winco.
We also have a Costco in the immediate area and a Saar's. Saar's has some really, really good meat sales, but you have to buy 10lbs at a time and the only thing I buy 10 lbs of is hamburger and I buy that at Winco. The Costco membership price is a little too high for me and it's the same as with Saar's - I just don't have a place to store large item purchases beyond what I already buy.
And in summer, I try to go to the Farmer's Market once a week, but they're pretty pricy.
Shopping like this can sometimes take me 2 to 5 hours, but recently, I've taken to doing the shopping in two days instead of just one. Otherwise I'm wiped out when I get home.
I should mention that I pretty much buy for the month when I shop, so I only do this once per month unless I need something like fresh vegetables. This month, for instance, I'm going to make taco salads, so I'll need to get lettuce. If I had bought that when I was shopping, it would have gone bad by now. Otherwise I toss onions in the fridge and buy as much frozen fruit as I can.
And if you ask if it's worth it, I'd say yes, it sure is. I used to run out of food a week before the end of the month. Food stamps don't get put on until the 4th. Since I started following the sales and cooking my own food instead of buying pre-cooked, my food shopping day has been pushed further and further into the month. This January, for instance, I didn't shop until the 13th. And I doubt I will be shopping before the 15th of February, too. Plus, I can look at my receipts and see how much I've saved. Sometimes I've walked in and spent $30 on food that's on sale and saved $35.
The only problem is, I have a feeling that when I am off food stamps, I will probably never be able to go into just one grocery store and buy what I need without feeling guilty about not checking out all the other stores and buying food on sale. It just gets to be a habit.
Sheesh - nothing like writing a book here.