Nakumatt is our largest supermarket chain here. There are also a few other smaller chains as well as some individually owned stores.
BJ does most of our grocery shopping for several reasons. I don't drive here, so that means if I go, we all go. Then BJ shops faster without me (Imagine that!), and for some strange reason, he claims that we spend less money when he goes by himself! Ha Ha Sometimes I go just for the fun of it to get out of the house, but you know how it is taking two little ones shopping. Also, wherever we go as a family, we are sure to draw a lot of attention. We usually have trails of children following us all through the store trying to talk with Seth or get a good look at Brina!
These pictures are of a Nakumatt in Nairobi. Nakuru just recently got a Nakumatt store too, so now we do most of our shopping here in Nakuru, with the exception of meat which we still buy at a butcher shop in Nairobi.
Nakumatt has most of what we need. Some things that are not available are chocolate chips, grape jelly, cornmeal, poultry seasoning, cream of tartar, taco seasoning, pepperoni, and some sodas such as Root Beer and Cream Soda. I would not consider any of these needs though. They are definitely things you can live without. Many times, things go in and out of stock. We try to keep stocked up on different items that we like, but you can only stock so far ahead, and you never know what might not be available tomorrow. At one point, there was no sugar in the stores! And when it did come back on the shelves, the price had skyrocketed! They just got real brown sugar back in stock recently. I was so excited to see it! Right now, we are waiting on canned tomato sauce to come back in stock.
I hope to see cranberry sauce again before Thanksgiving. Sometimes the brand of mayonnaise we like goes out of stock, or Heinz ketchup cannot be found on the shelves. But in most cases, there are other brands to replace our favorites. Anything truly Cajun, we have shipped to us. It is simply not possible to go three to four years without our Louisiana food!
So now let's get down to prices. When we first got to Kenya, I was shocked at the prices. I had to get used to seeing everything in 100's and 1,000's, and it was difficult to wrap my mind around that. However, once I learned to convert all those shillings back to American dollars, it wasn't so bad. Right now, we get about 83 Kenyan shillings to 1 American dollar. I find that prices here are pretty comparable to prices in the States, maybe just a little higher. Certain things, however, are definitely higher in price. Here are few examples:
Pancake syrup--$8.61 for a 24 oz. bottle
Chipoltle Tobasco (when we can find it)--$7.65 for a 6 oz bottle. BJ loves this stuff!
Taco sauce/salsa--close to $5.00 a jar
Canned goods--$2.50 to $3.00 a can
15 eggs--$2.30
Hairspray-- $9.00
Shampoo--$7.15
Gas--$5.50 a gallon
Electricity is twice as expensive here as it is in the States.
Chicken and pork are definitely more expensive. Beef is about the same as in the States. Fresh vegetables are quite a bit cheaper here, and they taste SO good. The carrots here are so sweet. Bananas in the States have no flavor compared to the bananas here. Tea (and coffee I'm told) have way more flavor here too.
So that gives you an idea of what grocery shopping is like here in Kenya. I am glad to let BJ handle it for me. He brings home the food, and I cook it!
* Tonight, King Ranch Chicken
9 comments:
I enjoyed this post.
I think you live in Karen suburb of Nairobi but it sounds like you have a mission in Nakuru. It's great that they now have a Nakumatt.
I've found the prices of most things to be less expensive in Kenya than here at home though a few things I've needed (like contact solution) is more expensive. Given your list of purchases, I guess it very much depends on what you are buying. I'm thinking that much of what a foreigner needs (myself included) is more expensive in Kenya and local stuff is a lot less costly.
I am enjoying reading your blog posts.
Last year, we lived in Karen because our Swahili language school was near there. About 7 months ago, we moved to Nakuru. My husband still travels back and forth a couple of times a week teaching here and there.
Yes, imported goods and things that foreigners buy are more expensive than the local grown produce. You are right; contact solution is really expensive here. I brought a bunch of it with me from America.
Love reading the price comparison! Thanks for linking up!
If you don't mind white cornmeal you can find it. Here in Tanzania they call it Sembe. I used to buy it in Kenya, but can't remember the name. Maybe Jogoo?? It's finer than yellow, and doesn't have the same flavor, but works find in cornbread!
I love learning about this stuff in other places! It would be hard for me to get used to the difference in currency too. Thanks for posting.
I am curious, is or will it ever be feasible to have a small garden or raise chickens for eggs and meat to cut costs a little and do you pickle or preserve?
Nakuru was my home base on the last few trips I made to Kenya. I got very sick last time so after that I made sure to eat in "tourist" hotels. If I lived there I would become familiar with that produce rinse you are using. I know another missionary in the blog world who used some other substance (powdered from the chemist). It seems they make it more convenient now. Some of my Kenyan friends (locals) use vinegar.
I do use the Jogoo ugali flour for cornbread and corndogs (with a couple of drops of food coloring to make it look yellow!) Got that tip from Angela. I love learning from other missionaries. When they have it in stock, I use coarse semolina under pizzas. So really I've done fine without yellow cornmeal.
I am growing a garden right now. Lettuce is doing great, and I'm waiting to harvest other vegetables as well. Our yard is really not big enough for chickens AND the dog, I don't think. Plus, chicken and eggs attract snakes, so we probably won't go that route, at least not where we live now.
I don't can, although I've wanted to try sometime.
I know another missionary lady who does not buy the Aqua Guard. She just uses a small amount of bleach in the water.
How fun to get a peek into how things work where you live!!
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