The race for Fort Wayne’s cheapest grocery cart just took another twist. WPTA’s 21Investigates Grocery Tracker dropped its May 13 results on Wednesday, and a new “Cheap Champ” sits at the top of the standings. Reporter John H.D. Wagner walked into three local mega stores with the same shopping list, and what he found could change where families spend their next paycheck.
Inside This Week’s Cheap Champ Win
Each Wednesday, the WPTA team prices the same 10 grocery basics at Apple Glen Walmart, Illinois Road Meijer, and Southgate Plaza Kroger. No coupons. No loyalty card discounts. No bulk deals. Just the sticker price on the shelf.
This week’s tracker swaps the leader board once again. A previous store’s run at the top ended, and a fresh retailer claimed the crown by squeezing out savings across produce and pantry staples. Wagner reminds viewers that the figures reflect what shoppers actually scan at checkout, not the secret deals tucked behind a digital app.
The tracker has crowned different winners almost every month of 2026 so far. Earlier in the year, the standings switched up in late January and a new Cheap Champ was named in March, proving the price gap between Fort Wayne’s three mega stores stays razor thin.
The 10 Items Driving Fort Wayne Carts
Some items barely move week to week. Others swing hard. The tracker keeps the basket simple so families can compare their own receipts.
Here is the shopping list 21Investigates checks every Wednesday:
- One dozen store-brand grade-A large eggs
- One gallon of store-brand 2% milk
- One pound of Land O’Lakes Butter Sticks
- One loaf of Sunbeam Giant White Bread
- One family-size box of Cheerios
- A 16-ounce jar of Jif Creamy Peanut Butter
- One pound of store-brand 80/20 ground beef
- One pound of store-brand boneless, skinless chicken breast
- One pound of bananas
- One pound of russet potatoes
Ground beef remains the heavyweight in any family cart, and Fort Wayne is no exception. Eggs, on the other hand, have flipped from villain to bargain. Production is finally catching up after last year’s bird flu chaos.
National Food Prices Behind the Local Numbers
The April Consumer Price Index, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday, showed grocery costs picking up speed again. The food at home index climbed 0.7 percent in April, and overall food inflation reached 3.2 percent over the past 12 months.
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 1.3 percent in April, with beef alone up 2.7 percent in a single month. Dairy products climbed 0.8 percent, and the fruits and vegetables index jumped 1.8 percent. Five of the six major grocery store food groups gained ground in April.
Fuel costs are tugging the grocery basket higher too. Gasoline averaged $4.50 a gallon by May 12, up from $3.14 a year earlier. The spike followed the start of the US-Israel-Iran conflict on February 28, 2026. Diesel hauls every box of Cheerios and bunch of bananas to Wagner’s three stores, and that fuel bill lands on your receipt.
The USDA’s Economic Research Service still expects grocery prices to rise 2.4 percent this year. Beef and veal are forecast to climb 6.3 percent as the national cattle herd stays tight. Eggs, in contrast, are predicted to fall 29.4 percent as flocks rebuild.
Smart Ways to Shrink Your Fort Wayne Grocery Bill
Coupons, loyalty perks, and credit card cashback get stripped from the tracker. Real shoppers can use every one of them to chop the total.
| Money Move | Why It Works |
|---|---|
| Switch to store brands | Saves roughly 25% on common staples |
| Swap beef for chicken or eggs | Cuts $80 to $120 a month for a family of four |
| Write a meal plan first | Less impulse buying and food waste |
| Rotate stores by sale cycle | Beats loyalty to one chain every week |
A family of four can avoid as much as $1,500 a year in wasted food simply by sticking to a written list and rotating proteins. That figure comes straight from USDA estimates on the average American household.
Wagner’s tracker also shows no one store wins every week. Walmart often takes the title for everyday lowest prices in national rankings, but Kroger’s sale cycles and digital coupons swing the math hard. Meijer regularly pulls ahead on meat specials.
Why This Weekly Check Matters Right Now
Annual inflation hit 3.8 percent in April, the highest reading since May 2023. Indiana families feel that pinch at the gas pump and again at the checkout line. The Grocery Tracker exists to take some of the guesswork out of stretching a paycheck.
Frances at the FMI, the food industry’s trade group, noted in a May 12 statement that staples like beef, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 1.3 percent in a single month. That kind of jump shows up fast in Fort Wayne carts because the items in the tracker make up the backbone of most weekly menus.
Wagner reminds shoppers that prices listed are in-store, not online. They reflect the same basket every week so the comparison stays fair. Anyone shopping at different locations of Kroger, Meijer, or Walmart may see slightly different numbers based on store size and local promotions.
For Fort Wayne families doing the math between paydays, the Grocery Tracker is more than a TV segment. It’s a weekly reality check on what feeding a household really costs in 2026. As food prices keep shifting, knowing where the dollar stretches farthest can free up money for gas, rent, or that small treat the kids have been asking about. Which store do you trust for the lowest bill this week? Drop your thoughts in the comments and share your own price wins with friends and neighbors in the comments below.
