Location plays role in how groceries are priced

Survey calculates cost of the same foods at various Seattle stores

By JENNIFER LANGSTON
P-I REPORTER

In the Admiral Safeway produce aisle, Nija Chappel whipped out the calculator on her cell phone.

One of dozens of volunteers who surveyed grocery store prices last week, the teenager weighed and calculated the per-pound price of a single bell pepper.

"That's crazy -- they're $3 a pound," said her cousin, 16-year-old Khatsini Simani. "Most people don't want to sit here and do the math."

The community survey -- based on a list of items to healthfully feed a family of four for a week -- uncovered a wide price range among supermarkets in West Seattle, White Center and Burien.