Budget-conscious shoppers are feeding a boom in discount groceries

Rich Henderson and his wife, Rachel Negro-Henderson, grocery shop for their family at the Aldi in Bellmawr, New Jersey. Rachel Wisniewski for NPR hide caption toggle caption Rachel Wisniewski for NPR BELLMAWR, N.J. — When Rachel Negro-Henderson started shopping at Aldi regularly during the pandemic — a change her family made when her husband lost his income as a crew coach — she'd sometimes have awkward run-ins with acquaintances. "People would not want to talk about why they were here, like it was a mistake," the healthcare administrator said. "They just stumbled into a grocery store because they needed a tomato." But after just a few years, those interactions have changed. Negro-Henderson, who lives in Audubon, N.J., with her husband and three kids, says she now sees people she knows there all the time. "Everyone's like, 'Yeah, I'm saving money. I might as well come here. I'm getting the same product,'" Negro-Henderson said. A slew of factors has been making it harder to put an affordable meal on the table. Food insecurity mushroomed during the COVID-19 pandemic , and grocery prices have skyrocketed in recent years. Layer onto that inflation, the threat of tariffs and corporate cost-cutting schemes like shrinkflation and electronic shelf labels , which give retailers the ability to change prices based on demand. Left: Negro-Henderson pulls out her shopping list. Right: Produce is for sale in boxes at Aldi. …