When food takes an ever-bigger bite out of our budgets, price begins to trump convenience and service on some shoppers' grocery lists. So Dollars & Sense did price checks at six supermarkets: Kowalski's and Byerly's for the high-end shopper, Cub and Rainbow for the middle-of-the-road customer and SuperTarget and Wal-Mart Supercenter for the budget-minded. The totals on 37 items didn't produce any major surprises. Wal-Mart was the low-price leader, beating SuperTarget by about 6 percent. Cub edged out Rainbow, and Byerly's squeaked by Kowalski's. But for super bargain hunters like Michelle Christianson of Minneapolis, Aldi still wins hands down. Our price comparison didn't include Aldi because most of its items are private labels, but its prices were lower than any of the other six stores on items such as bananas, carrots, celery, lettuce, oranges, strawberries, roma tomatoes, potatoes, milk, eggs and sugar.

How much cheaper? Twenty-two percent cheaper than at Wal-Mart. That's a significant savings -- even more than the difference between low-end Wal-Mart and high-end Kowalski's (about 21 percent in our price comparison). Some might quibble about the quality of the produce at Aldi, but I have found most of it to be fine. The strawberries have been wonderfully sweet, but a couple of bags of potatoes have been green. I asked for and received refunds on them. (Note to shoppers: Return bad produce or products.)

Even if you don't choose Aldi as your main grocer, its milk prices alone ($2.39 a gallon on University Avenue in St. Paul, $2.59 on Lake Street in Minneapolis earlier this week) make it worth a stop if a store is nearby.

For the uninitiated, Aldi accepts a few debit cards and no checks. You'll need a quarter for a cart (reimbursed when returned) and a few cents for bags. Employees, while non-union, are well paid, said David Livingston of DJL Supermarket Research in Milwaukee. Wal-Mart and Target's employees are also non-union, although generally paid less than are union employees at Byerlys, Kowalski's, Cub and Rainbow. Lower wages can translate into poorer customer service and more difficulty in maintaining adequate staffing, Livingston said.

The prices were checked early in the week of March 3 and then rechecked later in the week at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Maple Grove, SuperTarget and Byerly's in Roseville, Cub and Rainbow on University in St. Paul and Kowalski's on Grand Avenue in St. Paul. Sale prices are noted as (sale) and might no longer be discounted. Your own price comparisons will vary, depending on location, timing and items purchased.

If the price comparisons prove anything, it's that one of the best tools for bargain shoppers is a list of your most commonly purchased items. Include a target price, so you'll know a good sale price from a bad one.

John Ewoldt • 612-673-7633 or jewoldt@startribune.com. His articles are online at www.startribune.com/dollars.