A huge receipt for a California family’s purchase of some food from a Trader Joe’s recently went viral on social media, sparking a debate about which grocery stores families can afford.
In a video that has been viewed more than 17 million times On X, A father of six snapped a photo of a massive Trader Joe’s receipt from a location 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 is heard saying in the video.
Most items on the Mega Receipt range in price from $2.99 to $3.99.
The video shows the family buying fresh produce like strawberries ($4.49 per pound), a bag of four avocados ($4.99) and cucumbers ($2.49 each) during their grocery trip.
The receipt also included a large quantity of frozen foods, such as Trader Joe’s chicken and cheese tamales ($3.99 each), chicken soup dumplings ($3.49 each), and margherita pizza ($4.79 each).
The most expensive item on the receipt was the Korean-style frozen beef short ribs, which were priced at $13.99 a piece.
Other more expensive items included fried chicken strips at $8.99 and ribeye steaks at $7.27.
In response to the video, some social media users criticized Trader Joe’s prices and supported discount supermarket chain Aldi.
“It would cost a third of that at Aldi,” one person said.
“I got you at Aldi for like $125,” said another.
Other X users have emphasized that Trader Joe’s prepared foods are not designed to feed large families at a low price.
“Shopping at Trader Joe’s” [sic] instead of costco [sic] “With 6 kids this is crazy,” read one tweet that garnered 22,000 likes.
“Trader Joe’s is not for big families,” another user wrote.
Some social media users encouraged families to buy simpler food products to reduce the cost of grocery bills.
“Trader Joe’s is cheap, but this guy didn’t buy anything to cook with, all he has is takeout, which is always more than that,” one commenter wrote.
“Buying ingredients and preparing food.”
“Almost half of everything on the menu is organic, which is luxurious. There are also things like Gnocci Alla Sorrentina, sea capers, and a body wash made with Brazil nuts (!)?” another claimed.
“If he’s going to cry about prices, he should at least have some purchasing discipline.”
FOX Business reached out to the shopper and Trader Joe’s for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.