The Reason Aldi Beef Is Usually So Much Cheaper

Grocery prices are no joke. Sure, inflation has been easing in 2023, but that doesn't mean prices are coming back down from the roughly 20% they've risen since 2020. Maybe they're not still going up at astronomical rates but they're not going to return to prior levels. It can be hard out here to afford to feed ourselves.

One of the answers people have come up with is large bulk-purchase chains like Aldi. It's not the only chain out there, but it may be the most popular, with fan clubs numbering in the millions even if there are rules about whether your area qualifies for a store. Meat is among the products people available at affordable prices at Aldi.

Why can meat be so much cheaper at Aldi than at most large grocery stores? The answer involves the supply chain and how Aldi uses locally sourced meat to keep costs down. It turns out that sometimes the most environmentally-friendly option is also the most economically sound.

Though numerous grocery prices have gone a little nuts over the past few years, perhaps no category of product has seen a rise in cost than meat and that especially goes for beef. Years of drought, combined with disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, have caused farmers to sell off large numbers of cattle. That has put the United States at its smallest number of cattle in decades. This, in turn, has raised beef prices, which is why burgers are so much more expensive.

Aldi, however, gets around this in a number of ways. For starters, Aldi tends to have lower staffing levels than other grocery stores and eschew name-brand products. That applies to all of Aldi's products, though. With meat specifically, Aldi actually makes it a point to source from local farms where possible. Using regional supplies for meat is both better for the environment and for a customer's bottom line for the same reason; Aldi avoids heavy transportation costs (and the resulting carbon footprint) from moving the meat halfway across the country.

Simply choosing Aldi over other stores isn't the only way to save money on meat from Aldi, though. There are another couple of things to know that can save you even more. First, Aldi sometimes does Fresh Meat Special Buy days (usually on Wednesdays) for which they'll send out flyers two weeks in advance. Just be aware that the meat involved tends to fly off shelves very quickly for obvious reasons.

The other trick, though, avoids that problem. Often, the best time to shop for meat at Aldi will actually be on Sunday nights. The company frequently reduces prices at that point in the week since typically that's when sell-by dates are about to hit. According to the USDA, sell-by dates, it's important to note, are not the same as expiration dates. Purchasing meat near the sell-by doesn't mean it's going to be toxic sludge. You can always freeze your meat for later if you're concerned about spoilage, too.