Grocery stores: Who has the best prices on the basics in South Florida?

WELLINGTON, Fla. — If you've been shopping for groceries you may have done a double-take while pushing your cart down the aisle listening to the yacht-rock playing on the store's speakers.

WPTV NewsChannel 5 on Wednesday compared the prices of six basic grocery store items. Each item compared was consistent in size and quantity from the 33411 and 33414 ZIP codes (Wellington and Royal Palm Beach).

This article does not attempt to rate the quality of the products priced.

Grocery Stores in the 33411 and 33414 Zip Codes

Unless noted, the prices reflected do not include coupons, discount programs or points and are reflective of conventionally grown (not organic) foods.

1 Gallon of Whole Milk

1 Dozen Large Grade A Eggs

1 Loaf of White Bread

* Whole Foods offers only organic white bread and was not considered in this group. Their organic/kosher loaf of white bread is $4.69.

** A Winn-Dixie spokeswoman added that there is a more affordable bread option that is priced at 99 cents with or without a rewards card, but it was not available at that location at the time of the comparison.

1 pound of Red Delicious Apples

* Whole Foods and Trader Joe's did not have Red Delicious Apples stocked on their shelves.

1 pound of Bacon

* This price is using Winn-Dixie's membership program, which saved shoppers $4. Otherwise, the price would be $10.99.

** Trader Joe's did not have bacon stocked on its shelves.

52 ounces of Orange Juice

Summary
Our six basic grocery items include whole milk, eggs, white bread, apples, bacon and orange juice. Aldi prices were the cheapest. Publix was the most expensive. WPTV did not include Trader Joe's or Whole Foods in the summary since they often only offer organic selections.

New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed inflation climbed to 8.5% in March, putting a squeeze on people's wallets. The 12-month jump is the sharpest year-over-year increase since December 1981.