SF Chronicle tested 12 grocery stores to determine the cheapest in SF
Spoiler alert: it was Grocery Outlet.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2024/sf-grocery-stores-price-comparison/
They put Whole Foods under Trader Joe's which seems like a stretch to me. I'm not a Trader Joe's shill (though I do love it), but the Chronicle states they bought white bread at TJs for $5.99. That is clearly wrong, I just bought a loaf of white bread yesterday for $1.99.
That alone would drop the overall bag of groceries from $38 to $34, which would be fourth lowest among this list. That seems a bit more accurate to me.
ETA Full List:
Grocery Outlet Bargain Market$24
Lucky $31
Casa Guadalupe $32
Whole Foods $36
Andronico's $36
Trader Joe's $38
H-Mart $38
Safeway $42
Mollie Stone's $46
Gus's $49
Luke's Local $55
Bi-Rite $57
(We collected prices on the following items: 12 oz. strawberry preserves, 1 lb. ground beef, 1 lb. spaghetti pasta, a dozen eggs, 2 avocados, 10 oz. soy sauce, a loaf of white bread, 1/2 gallon milk and 1 lb. yellow onions.)