Driscoll's Strawberries at Harris Teeter and Safeway

We usually go to Harris Teeter in the neighborhood for groceries. Occasionally my husband travels to the Safeway in SW if he is in the mood. After Saturday brunch in McLean, he also stops by the Safeway across the street from the family restaurant right off Dolly Madison Parkway to pick up odds and ends. He loves going to the grocery store.  Yesterday he picked up a big box of Driscoll's strawberries for $3.50. Earlier in the week he got a smaller box of Driscoll's strawberries for $4.00 in DC. I remember a lady from Virginia who was standing in front of us at a grocery store a while ago who said the prices for food in DC are ridiculous. On the surface it looked like she was correct. When we came home, I noticed the more expensive smaller box with the green label was from Mexico and the strawberries were organic. The larger box was from California and non organic. So we took a taste test. If you like firmer strawberries the organic won the prize. If you like sweeter strawberries, then the "regular" and cheaper strawberries were the clear winner. I suppose it depends what you are after and ultimately what you can afford. But what's the excuse for the cherry preserves? For the same bottle of jelly, you get to pay $5.50 in DC and $2.90 in McLean. Yes, the jelly was on sale, but it seems a lot of things there are always on sale. I was talking to a colleague last week and asked him where he might want to retire. He thinks he may return to Texas even though he really likes Virginia, citing how much more expensive it is to live around here. This is just one example of how right he is -  but at least he's paying less for groceries than we are. But Texas doesn't appeal to either one of us.