cheap groceries in PH/CH area -- semi-urgent

Hey there,

So I am headed to Malawi this summer with my nonprofit, and somewhat randomly obtained some coupons for free rice. I waited longer than I should have and now the coupons expire in a couple days and only yesterday did I find out that the coupons aren't for "free-rice-no-matter-what-they-charge-in-NYC" but for a value quite a bit lower than the Key on Flatbush charges. Oops.

The rice is Carolina, but some apparently special style so I'm not sure just any bodega will work...the grocery would need a decent amount of variety. I am going to check at the Key Food on Washington, Ctowntown, and the Met on Vanderbilt later today, but I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions for other groceries that aren't on my radar that might be cheaper? I'm not opposed to paying about $25 for 14 2lb bags of rice for charity, but it would also be nice if I could actually get them for free.

*If you know cheap spots in the city, north Slope or around the Atlantic stop I might have time to get to those...

Thanks so much!

There is a Pathmark at Atlantic, but I've never been there, so that is the extent of my help.

I don't have any specific suggestions for Carolina rice...but I know you can get 28 lbs of rice (based on your 2lbx14 bags) for less than $25 if you go to any asian supermarket and buy it in large bags (20lbs). Probably also at costco. A lot of kinds of rice have gotten more expensive in the past few months, though.

(why are all my posts about rice these days??)

Yeah, it was more appealing when I thought they would be truly free--not $25--but also I'm hoping not to deal with shipping. 2lb bags are pretty easy for each person to stick into his/her backpack.

Rice is definitely expensive! 28lbs would probably cover one day of feeding, maybe 2 if it's only a small part of the meal.

I haven't been to Pathmark in years...is it cheaper? The only thing I really remember about it is the lines. Oh, and that once we were looking for canned pumpkin and were told that they didn't have any because it wasn't "baking season."

The price of rice has gone up considerably in the past few months. It's possible that this is a market fluctuation thing, not a neighborhood thing.

You could try Western Beef on Empire though.

The Pathmark on 12th and 2nd in Brooklyn, maybe the Western Beef on Empire and Washington. Are you bringing the rice to Africa or is this for home use? You might want to look into Chinatown. Sometimes places like Kam Man and Hong Kong Market sell products which are less expensive even when a coupon is applied to brand name stores.

Carnivore wrote: It's possible that this is a market fluctuation thing, not a neighborhood thing.

Or indeed, not a fluctuation but a permanent change. There's a worldwide shortage, coupled with a weaker dollar, and it's not going away soon; in fact it's probably going to continue up for a while. For example, Australia which was a major exporter until recently, has given up growing it, due to the cost of water due to global warming. Asian countries are banning exports because they don't have enough. We're hedging by buying larger bags of rice sooner (as well as the usual holding savings in foreign currencies and some exposure to grains derivatives).

Yes, I was planning to bring it, that's why I don't want large bags. Right now we're still wondering how we're going to ship all our other supplies (it's really expensive, much more than the contents of each box is worth) so I figured rather than add 25-30 pounds of rice into a box of donated backpacks, farm out 2lb bags for all the people going to take. Just disappointing if I do end up paying the equivalent of a 20lb bag in Chinatown due to the coupon's price limit.

Will definitely check out Western Beef!

could you buy big bags and then parcel the rice out into ~2 lb. bags for carrying?

Maybe...was just really hoping to use these random coupons I got .

what about the foodtown on fulton and ... albany? not sure of the exact addy but I hear the product is good and the food is cheap.

I'll try them! I actually heard about that shop on these boards, but the raves made me think it might be too nice to be cheap!

naugastyle wrote: I'll try them! I actually heard about that shop on these boards, but the raves made me think it might be too nice to be cheap!

I've never been - if I had a bus that went there, though, I'd definitely check it out.

Will the country/s you're making the layover in as well as Malawi allow you to bring raw rice?

I'd be really surprised if they didn't allow it, but I'll ask around.

have you thought about going to a bunch of stores and asking them to donate a few bags? i've done some canvassing for in-kind donations in this area before, and found that a lot of the businesses are very receptive. i bet they'd especially love it if you had a little write-up on the program you're working with that they could post to show that they supported you.

all that said, if you feel weird canvassing, it's might not be worth the $ you'd save...

Super Foodtown is on Fulton at Brooklyn Avenue. You can go to their website (http://foodtown.com/ and click "Shop from Home" on the top left, then go to the Bedford Stuyvesant store, and search for "Carolina Rice") and see how much they sell it for. Maybe they have more (sizes, variety) in store than what's available for online shopping, but this will give you an idea. Also, maybe a store will take your coupons for "free" rice up to a certain price, and charge you the difference. --E.

Even with the rice being free, I can't imagine it could possibly be worth it to take on the plane to Africa in the era of $25 per bag checked baggage. I know it's a feel-good gesture, but if you have time, you could do a lot more good raising money to pay for a shipping container full of rice, which would make much more sense in terms of unit cost and have a much bigger impact.

Sorry, I don't mean to be a downer, but it just seems absolutely crazy to me to fill your luggage up with rice.

Some things at Foodtown on Fulton and Brooklyn are affordable when on sale. Otherwise Pathmark is much cheaper. However, Costco on Third Ave has Uncle Bens Rice 12 lbs for 7 dollars.They also have some Carolina but not sure of that cost as I prefer Uncle Bens or Jasmine from Chinatown. There is a huge Asian Market on Allen St and Canal that has jasmine or basmati rice at decent prices. Before the rice shortage, most stores were comparable but now, Costco or BJs is best for parboiled rice.

I'd ask the manager at the store most convenient if they can give you the price you want and order the quantity you need. The worst they can do is say no.

Also, while it's not likely you'll get caught it isn't legal to bring food stuffs, animal, vegetable, or farm products into most countries. That's exactly the kind of questions they have on the customs forms. Of course, I have a contraband orange in the fridge from London right now.

There are also a lot of people who would argue that the best thing to do would be to funnel the $25 into the local Malawian economy when you get there if you can't get the rice for free here.

Carnivore wrote: it just seems absolutely crazy to me to fill your luggage up with rice.

I don't know, it sounds like an arbitrage opportunity to me. For example, you could swap a bag of rice for a baby, Madonna-style.

Carnivore, I know where you're coming from. Unfortunately, shipping only 45 lbs worth of goods to Malawi costs $700, as we recently discovered. With the food shortages, rice costs more there than than it does here. A 2lb bag fits into my backpack and I don't check luggage. Anyone else who was planning to...well, they were going to be paying anyway!

tajmb, I totally agree that the money should go to the local economy, but in the specific case of food, things do not bode well in Malawi. We have other items we want to provide that will be purchased there, like notebooks and sandals. I'd be really surprised if dry rice is an issue with customs anyway, especially if declared.

The good news is I found it at a decent price at the Associated on Franklin (Key on Washington charged the same as Key on Flatbush)...still pricier than the coupon's value but only paid about $1 for 2 bags rather than almost $3 at Key. Will try to get to Pathmark tomorrow!

doctorj, babies are harder to get through customs than rice.