A California family’s huge receipt at Trader Joe’s recently went viral on social media, sparking a debate about which grocery stores are affordable for families.
In a video that has been viewed more than 17 million times on X, a father of six’s camera zooms in on a giant receipt from a Trader Joe’s in Westlake Village, an affluent city in Los Angeles County.
“This is what it takes to feed six children [for] “About a week and a half,” the man says in the video.
Most of the items on the huge receipt cost between $2.99 and $3.99.
In the video, the family can be seen buying fresh produce while grocery shopping, including strawberries ($4.49 per pound), a bag of four avocados ($4.99) and cucumbers ($2.49 each).
The coupon also included a number of frozen items, such as Trader Joe’s chicken and cheese tamales ($3.99 each), chicken soup dumplings ($3.49 each) and a margherita pizza ($4.79 each).
The most expensive dish on the receipt was the frozen Korean beef ribs, which cost $13.99 each.
Other higher-priced items included breaded chicken fillets for $8.99 and a rib-eye steak for $7.27.
In response to the video, some social media users criticized Trader Joe’s prices and supported discount grocery chain Aldi.
“At Aldi it would cost 1/3 of that amount,” someone said.
“You can get it at Aldi for about $125,” said another.
Other X users claimed that Trader Joe’s ready-made meals are not designed to feed large families at a low price.
“Shopping at Trader Joe’s [sic] instead of costco [sic] with 6 kids is insane,” read one tweet, which was liked 22,000 times.
“Trader Joe’s is not meant for a large family,” wrote another user.
Some social media users encouraged the family to buy simpler groceries to reduce grocery costs.
“Trader Joe’s is cheap but this person didn’t buy anything to cook, it’s all pre-made food and that’s always more expensive,” one commenter wrote.
“Buy ingredients and make food.”
“Almost half of everything on the list is organic, which is a luxury. And also things like Gnocci Alla Sorrentina, surfine capers and brazil nut body wash (!)?” argued another.
“If he’s going to whine about prices, at least show some buying discipline.”
FOX Business has reached out to the customer and Trader Joe’s for comment but has not yet received a response.