THUNDER BAY — Ten pounds of potatoes for $1.99, pork side ribs at $1.99 a pound, 88-cent pasta, 98-cent apples and three-pound bags of onions or carrots for $1.44 give Thunder Bay households some useful ways to hold down grocery costs this week.
Most of the new supermarket flyers begin Thursday, Sept. 24, and run through Wednesday, Sept. 30. Giant Tiger’s new flyer begins Wednesday, Sept. 23. As of early Wednesday morning, Skaf’s Just Basics had not yet posted its Sept. 24 flyer, so last week’s prices have not been carried forward as though they were current.
The best strategy this week is to build meals around a few unusually low-priced staples rather than chase every advertised special. Potatoes, cabbage, pasta, pork, eggs, carrots and onions can overlap across several meals, reducing both the grocery bill and food waste.
The strongest Thunder Bay grocery deals this week
At FreshCo, the preview flyer has frozen pork tenderloin at $2.99 a pound, three-pound bags of carrots or yellow onions for $1.44 and an 18-pack of eggs for $4.77. Safeway Arthur Street has pork shoulder picnic or blade roast at $3.29 a pound and three-pound bags of apples or oranges for $3.99. Walmart Supercentre stands out with Gala apples at 98 cents a pound and cabbage at 78 cents a pound, while Giant Tiger has 454 grams of Primo pasta for just 88 cents.
At Metro Thunder Bay, a 10-pound bag of white potatoes is $1.99, green cabbage is 59 cents a pound and pork tenderloin or lean ground pork is $2.99 a pound. Real Canadian Superstore Carrick St has pork side ribs for $1.99 a pound, 18 eggs for $4.44 and Campbell’s condensed soup for 88 cents. The new flyer from Skaf’s Just Basics had not yet been posted Wednesday morning. Local-food shoppers can also check Superior Seasons, while the weekly specials from George’s Market and Celebrations continue to be distributed primarily through the store’s Monday email newsletter.
FreshCo: $2.99 pork tenderloin and $1.44 carrots or onions
FreshCo’s official flyer page is location-driven, so Thunder Bay shoppers should make sure the Court Street store is selected when viewing the preview. The Sept. 24-30 preview lists frozen cryovac pork tenderloin at $2.99 a pound, fresh split chicken wings at $3.99 a pound and lean ground chicken at $3.99 for 454 grams.
The produce side is particularly useful. Three-pound bags of carrots or yellow onions are $1.44, five avocados or a three-pound bag of oranges are $2.44, and four-packs of sweet peppers are $2.88.
An 18-pack of large eggs is $4.77. Campbell’s condensed soup is 95 cents a can and Kraft cheese slices are $3.99 for 410 grams.
Best FreshCo buys: Pork tenderloin, carrots, onions, eggs and peppers.
What to stock up on: The pork tenderloin is freezer-friendly, while onions and carrots can keep considerably longer than delicate produce when stored properly. Those three items can also form the base of several dinners rather than one recipe.
Safeway: Pork shoulder and $1.33-a-pound fruit
Safeway’s Western Canada pricing program includes Northern Ontario, making the western flyer relevant to Thunder Bay shoppers. The Sept. 24-30 flyer lists pork shoulder picnic or blade roast at $3.29 a pound.
Three-pound bags of Gala or McIntosh apples are $3.99, as are three-pound bags of navel oranges. That works out to about $1.33 a pound.
Villaggio bread, selected Dempster’s tortillas or Natural Bakery rye bread are $2.97. Selected Crave frozen entrées are $2.99 and Taylor Farms salad kits are $4.44.
Best Safeway buys: Pork shoulder, apples, oranges and bread.
What to stock up on: Pork shoulder is well suited to a cook-once, eat-several-times approach. A larger roast can become the first night’s dinner, pulled-pork sandwiches, tacos and soup.
Walmart: 98-cent apples and 78-cent cabbage
Walmart’s strongest prices this week are concentrated in basic produce.
Bulk Gala apples are 98 cents a pound and green or red cabbage is 78 cents a pound. A 10-pound bag of potatoes or yellow onions is $3.94. Pie pumpkins are $1.44 each.
Gay Lea butter is $4.97 for 454 grams and selected Armstrong cheese is $4.98. Carnation evaporated milk is $1.74.
Red or green seedless grapes, by comparison, are $3.44 a pound, so shoppers focused strictly on value may get considerably more fruit for their dollar from the apples.
Best Walmart buys: Apples, cabbage, potatoes or onions, butter and pie pumpkins.
What to stock up on: Butter freezes well. Cabbage is another useful value because it generally lasts longer in the refrigerator than lettuce and can be eaten raw, roasted, sautéed or added to soup.
Giant Tiger: 88-cent pasta makes this a pantry stop
Giant Tiger’s flyer runs from Sept. 23 through Sept. 29, one day earlier than most of the other major flyers.
Primo pasta is 88 cents for 454 grams. Giant Value pasta sauce is $1.65 for 680 millilitres, meaning a basic pasta dinner starts at just $2.53 before adding meat, vegetables or cheese.
Other useful prices include three-pound bags of seedless oranges for $2.88, three-packs of romaine hearts for $2.44 and celery for $1.44.
A 500-gram whole pork tenderloin is $5.97. That is not as strong on a weight basis as FreshCo’s advertised $2.99-a-pound tenderloin, making the pasta and produce the more compelling reasons to stop at Giant Tiger this week.
Best Giant Tiger buys: Pasta, pasta sauce, romaine, oranges and celery.
What to stock up on: Pasta at 88 cents is a straightforward pantry buy for households that use it regularly. A few extra packages can form the base of quick fall and winter meals without taking much storage space.
Metro: $1.99 potatoes, 59-cent cabbage and $2.99 pork
Metro may have the strongest all-around collection of basic ingredients this week.
A 10-pound bag of Foodland white potatoes is $1.99 — about 20 cents a pound. Green cabbage is 59 cents a pound, five-packs of avocados are $2.99 and two-pound bags of clementines are $2.99.
Fresh pork tenderloin in a value pack or lean ground pork is $2.99 a pound. Selection large eggs are $4.98 for 18, while Black Diamond cheese is $4.99 for selected 300- to 400-gram packages.
Lebanese-style pita bread is 99 cents and Campbell’s condensed soup is also 99 cents.
Best Metro buys: Potatoes, cabbage, pork, pita bread and avocados.
What to stock up on: The potatoes are this week’s standout bulk staple. Store them somewhere cool, dark and ventilated, and keep them away from onions.
Real Canadian Superstore: $1.99 ribs and $4.44 for 18 eggs
Real Canadian Superstore has several of the week’s better meat and pantry prices.
Pork side rib portions are $1.99 a pound. Large white eggs are $4.44 for 18, equivalent to roughly 25 cents an egg.
Campbell’s condensed soup is 88 cents, while No Name pasta is $1.97 for a 900-gram package. Wonder bread or selected buns are $2.50.
A one-kilogram package of PC old-fashioned style bacon is $12, which works out to $3 per 250 grams.
Best Superstore buys: Pork ribs, eggs, soup and pasta.
What to stock up on: Ribs can go directly into the freezer if the package is divided first. Soup and pasta are low-risk pantry purchases because they have a long storage life and can provide the foundation for emergency meals when there is little fresh food left in the house.
Skaf’s Just Basics: New Thursday flyer still to come
Skaf’s publishes its new weekly flyer on Thursdays. When checked early Wednesday, Sept. 23, the store’s official weekly-specials page was still displaying the Sept. 17-23 flyer.
For that reason, prices from the outgoing flyer are not being presented as Sept. 24 specials.
Thunder Bay shoppers reading this article Thursday or later should check Skaf’s new flyer before finalizing a shopping trip, particularly for produce, canned goods, frozen foods and meat. Those categories can materially change which store offers the best overall basket.
Superior Seasons: Compare the fall harvest with supermarket prices
Superior Seasons operates differently from a conventional grocery flyer. Shoppers select an ordering period and distribution location before seeing the complete available inventory, and products can change as participating producers update their supply.
The online marketplace is managed through Belluz Farms and connects shoppers with small and medium-sized food businesses from Thunder Bay, Northwestern Ontario and elsewhere in Ontario. Producers that manage their own inventory and pricing can receive up to 90 per cent of the price consumers pay.
September is a particularly useful time to compare local potatoes, carrots, squash, greens, eggs, dairy products and meat with the supermarket list.
The best budgeting approach is to treat local food as a substitute for an item already planned rather than an additional purchase. A local product may not always carry the week’s lowest sticker price, but buying through a regional food network can direct more of the household food budget toward producers in Northwestern Ontario.
George’s Market: Check the Monday email for the week’s specials
George’s Market says its weekly specials are distributed through an email newsletter every Monday morning. A complete public, itemized price list for the week of Sept. 21 was not available on the market’s website when checked.
That means George’s prices have not been inserted into the lowest-price rankings without verification.
The Balsam Street independent grocer has served Thunder Bay since 1961 and carries meat, produce, bakery products, prepared foods and products from local suppliers.
Readers who receive the newsletter should compare George’s butcher and produce specials with this week’s $1.99 ribs, $2.99 pork tenderloin and sub-$1-a-pound apples and cabbage before choosing where to shop.
What is worth stocking up on this week?
For the freezer: Superstore’s pork side ribs at $1.99 a pound are the week’s headline freezer buy. FreshCo’s $2.99-a-pound pork tenderloin and Metro’s $2.99-a-pound pork tenderloin or ground pork are also strong options.
For the pantry: Giant Tiger’s 88-cent pasta and $1.65 sauce are hard to beat. Superstore’s 88-cent soup and $1.97 900-gram pasta are also useful longer-term purchases.
For produce: Metro’s 10-pound potatoes at $1.99 and 59-cent cabbage lead the field. FreshCo’s three-pound bags of carrots or onions for $1.44 and Walmart’s 98-cent-a-pound Gala apples are also strong buys.
For breakfast and baking: Superstore’s 18 eggs for $4.44 are slightly less than the comparable 18-packs at FreshCo and Metro. Walmart’s $4.97 butter is a reasonable freezer purchase for households that regularly bake.
Stocking up only works when the household will eventually use the food. Ten pounds of potatoes for $1.99 is exceptional value, but not if half the bag ends up being discarded.
Five budget recipes built around this week’s grocery deals
Pork tenderloin with roasted carrots, onions and potatoes: Use the $2.99-a-pound pork tenderloin from FreshCo or Metro, FreshCo’s discounted carrots and onions and Metro’s potatoes. Cut the vegetables into roughly equal pieces, season with oil, pepper, garlic and dried herbs, then roast alongside the pork until the vegetables are tender and the meat is safely cooked. Slice leftover pork thinly for sandwiches or wraps the following day.
Ground pork and cabbage pasta: Brown Metro’s $2.99-a-pound ground pork with chopped onion. Add thinly sliced 59-cent cabbage and cook until softened. Stir in Giant Tiger’s $1.65 pasta sauce and toss with its 88-cent pasta. A small amount of grated cheese can finish the dish. This gives cabbage a second purpose beyond coleslaw and stretches the meat through the pasta and vegetables.
Oven ribs with roasted potatoes and cabbage slaw: Use Superstore’s $1.99-a-pound ribs as the main protein. Roast or barbecue them with whichever seasonings or sauce are already in the pantry. Serve with Metro potatoes and a simple slaw made from cabbage, carrot and a basic vinegar dressing. Buying the vegetables for multiple meals keeps the side dishes inexpensive.
Potato, pepper and egg skillet: Dice cooked or raw potatoes and fry them with FreshCo onions and sweet peppers. Add beaten eggs from Superstore and cook until set. This works for breakfast, lunch or dinner and uses inexpensive ingredients with little preparation. Leftover pork or grated cheese can be added if available.
Apple and pumpkin soup with toast: Roast Walmart’s pie pumpkin with onion and a Gala apple until soft. Blend with broth, water and seasonings, then adjust the consistency to taste. The apple adds sweetness while the pumpkin provides body. Serve with toasted bread or pita. It is a low-cost way to turn two fall produce specials into a warm meal.
The common thread among these recipes is ingredient overlap. Potatoes appear in several meals, as do onions, cabbage, eggs and pork. That is intentional: a grocery budget stretches further when the same ingredients work in several dinners instead of every meal requiring a separate shopping list.
How to stretch this week’s grocery dollar
Start with the ingredients that are unusually cheap rather than deciding on seven unrelated meals and then buying whatever each recipe requires.
This week, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, onions and pasta are the foundation. Add one or two discounted proteins — pork is particularly competitive — and there are enough combinations for roasted dinners, soup, pasta, breakfast skillets and leftovers.
Compare prices by weight. Metro’s $1.99 10-pound bag of potatoes works out to about 20 cents a pound. Walmart’s $3.94 10-pound bag is still inexpensive, but the Metro offer is roughly half the price for the same advertised weight.
Do the same calculation with package sizes. Giant Tiger’s pasta is 88 cents for 454 grams. Superstore’s 900-gram package is $1.97. Both are good prices, and the difference is small enough that it may make more sense to buy at whichever store is already part of the trip than to drive across Thunder Bay solely for pasta.
Plan one or two main shopping stops. A few dollars in flyer savings can disappear quickly through fuel costs, travel time and impulse purchases. That calculation becomes even more important for people travelling into Thunder Bay from rural Northwestern Ontario communities and First Nations.
Use the freezer deliberately. Portion pork and ribs before freezing. Bread, butter and grated cheese can also be frozen. Label packages so discounted food does not disappear into the bottom of the freezer and eventually become waste.
Finally, check loyalty conditions, package sizes and the receipt. Preview flyers can change, quantities can be limited and individual stores can run out of advertised products.
Prices and flyer information were checked Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. Giant Tiger’s advertised offers run Sept. 23-29; most other major-chain preview flyers reviewed for this article run Sept. 24-30. Skaf’s Sept. 24 flyer had not yet been posted when checked. FreshCo shoppers should select the Thunder Bay location on the official flyer page. Prices and availability can vary by store and inventory, so confirm the shelf label and checkout price before purchasing.
