Gas

Prices for regular unleaded gas as of March 31:

Edgartown

Airport Mobil $2.699 Depot Corner $2.699

Edgartown Mobil $2.759

Oak Bluffs

deBettencourt’s $2.659

Jim’s $2.729

Vineyard Haven

Citgo $2.629

Tisbury Shell $2.659

West Tisbury

Up-Island Automotive $2.609

10 per cent discount on Sundays

Menemsha

Menemsha Texaco $2.599

Massachusetts state average (source: AAA) $1.983

Grocery Basket

With grocery prices expected to rise three per cent this year according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, we shopped for the same list of groceries that we shopped for on Jan. 27. Interestingly, two of the stores had a slight decrease in price while the one increase was only one-half of one per cent.

On April 1 we shopped for:

Bananas

Red onions

Cluster tomatoes

Grade A eggs (one-dozen carton)

Red potatoes

Boneless chicken breasts

Cream of Wheat cereal

Tropicana orange juice (half-gallon)

Trappist jams

Two per cent milk (half-gallon)

Prince thin spaghetti (one-pound box)

Scott 1000 toilet paper (six-roll pack)

Green Giant frozen niblets corn and butter sauce (10-ounce box)

Boar’s Head deli Virginia ham

Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise (30-ounce jar)

Pringle’s potato chips

Cracker Barrel sharp white cheddar cheese (10-ounce bar)

The total cost* before tax for each order was:

$53.46 at Reliable,

$57.15 at Stop & Shop,

$59.45 at Cronig’s without Our Island Club card, or

$53.50 at Cronig’s with the card.

*Stop & Shop had spaghetti and orange juice on sale with their free frequent shopper card; sales run from Friday to Thursday. Cronig’s gives a 10 per cent discount to Our Island Club cardholders, which charges an annual fee.

In January the prices were:

$53.73 at Reliable,

$56.91 at Stop & Shop,

$60.16 at Cronig’s without Our Island Club card, or

$54.14 at Cronig’s with the card.

These prices represent a snapshot in time only; on any date prices may vary.