Where to buy food?

It's still a few weeks away to my challenge start date and I'm in the process of researching prices at food sources around me.

The price of gasoline is at an all time high where I live.  It's up to $4.35 a gallon and I'm not driving a hybrid.  Because of this, I think it's only fair to shop at places in the vicinity that I can walk or bike to.  Luckily, I have a lot of sources to choose from:

Torrance Farmer's Market - Within walking distance.  Open Tuesdays and Saturdays.  Prices are actually not that cheap, but worth checking out for a possible deal and snack on some samples while there.

Randy's Produce - Across the street.  A family owned produce store.  Good prices on vegetables.  Not organic though.  They have bags of marked down items too.

Marukai Market - About a mile away.  Easy bike ride.  My Asian food source. This is where I'll buy tofu and rice.

Target - About a mile away.  Target now has a full grocery section.  Good prices on cat food and gourmet coffee.

Ralph's - About a mile away.  I usually just buy junk food here...

Pacific Supermarket - About a mile away. This is a large Korean market.  I don't usually shop here, but they have great prices on produce.

Fresh and Easy Market - About 2 miles away.  This has become one of my favorite grocery markets.  Good selection of groceries to get a healthy dinner on the table fast.  They have a marked down section where you can get up to 50% off meat and produce with the current days pull date.  Worth checking out anytime I go there.  Also, they have a weekly coupon of $3 to $5 off your total purchase.  Their private label products are tasty and an excellent value.

Von's - about 2 miles away.  But like Ralph's, I usually just buy junk food here.

Oroweat Bread Store - About 3 miles away.  Good selection of bread at discount prices.  Sometimes they have overstock items marked down to $1. 

Trader Joe's - About 3 miles away.  Everyone loves TJ's!  Best prices on eggs and orange juice.  A gold mine for gourmet snack food.  Also, can grab a sample cup of joe and maybe a snack.

Whole Foods - About 3 miles away, but too expensive for this challenge.

Smart and Final - About 3 miles away.  Good place to buy in bulk and no membership fee.  I have to check out the prices there for my challenge.

Costco - About 3 miles away.  I don't have a membership there anymore.  I do have the option to have a family member with a membership pick something up for me though.

So as you can see, I have a lot of places to choose from.  Most of these places I drive by regularly when I'm coming home from other destinations.

For my challenge, I'm sure I'll only be shopping at Fresh and Easy, Trader Joe's, and Marukai.  Of course, I'll be looking at the weekly food ads for the best prices.  Although I can use coupons for this challenge, I doubt I will because coupons are usually for things that you don't need.

As an FYI, I used to work in a grocery store in my college days.  I used to be the person updating prices in the "new" scanning system and also made price changes of products on the shelf.  Back then, everything was hand marked with a price tag.  When I got married 30 years ago, I was a master coupon shopper.  The key is to use coupons on items already on sale and stock up on them.  I guess what I'm saying is, I'm a good food shopper.