[rustybolt]

As someone from the Netherlands, I was surprised how expensive the local supermarkets in the US are (and also that they don't include taxes in the price labels). I still remember that over 10 years ago, one banana and one granola bar cost me over 10 dollar (nowadays it's probably a lot more). I almost cancelled the purchase at the checkout, but I didn't want to look like a cheapskate.

The nearest K-mart would be 1.5 miles out of town and of course everyone would take the car to go there to buy groceries in bulk.

[nicksergeant]

That seems odd. Where in the U.S.? A banana at my grocery store in western New York State costs less than 50 cents (49 cents per pound).

Granola bars admittedly can be ridiculously overpriced for what they are but even just one CLIF Bar is less than $1.50.

[ericb]

That doesn't sound right. Bananas are generally the cheapest fruit in the US. Was this some sort of fancy energy bar? Were you in Hawaii or Alaska?

[raziel2p]

That sounds insane. Are you sure you weren't being ripped off? Or this was a convenience store at a very lucrative location (i.e. tourist trap)?

[Kon-Peki]

> Or this was a convenience store at a very lucrative location (i.e. tourist trap)?

Seriously. What's interesting is that in the big cities (NYC, LA, Chicago) if you go to the neighborhoods where people actually live, grocery prices for fresh items are usually lower than in suburban or rural parts of the US. High sales volume overcomes the high real estate and labor costs.

[reducesuffering]

An organic banana and a granola bar at Trader Joe's (Aldi Nord) in the US is $1.50.