WAL-MART

No matter what your diet is, whether it’s Ramen noodles or raw veggies, student wallets can sometimes take quite the hit when it comes to buying groceries.

Voters chose Wal-Mart, located on Greenbriar Drive in Normal, as the best grocery store.

“I think it’s fantastic and I would like to thank all of the ISU students and faculty members who shop at our store,” Jeff Wallace, Wal-Mart store manager, said.

According to Wallace, Wal-Mart strives to maintain a higher variety of products at a lower price than its competitors. Wal-Mart also tries to appeal to its student customers, which often hit the store in mass numbers during the first week of each semester.

“A lot of stores have buy-one, get-one-free specials and all that, but if you actually go through and compare your receipts from Wal-Mart to those of our competitors, we’re usually about 12 to 18 percent less costly on our consumable products without any gimmicks,” he said.

Jewel-Osco took second place, and it was no surprise to Chris Compiseno, store director, that students enjoy shopping there.

“Our store is located about five minutes away from [the] ISU campus, so it’s very convenient for the students. We also offer our 15 percent discount for ISU students and faculty who show their university ID card.

Everybody likes saving money, but especially students,” Compiseno said.
The ISU discount continues to increase sales at both Jewel-Osco locations and the store will likely offer the deal again during upcoming semesters, he added.

Second Place

Third Place