How to Score One Free Grocery Item Every Day (& More From Our Favorite New Podcast)

Ever wonder which olive oil at Trader Joe’s is the purest? Or which cashier at the West Hollywood Whole Foods is the most fun? Or how you can score a free grocery item every single day of the year? Well, a new comedy podcast called “Groceries: The Internet’s Only Podcast Dedicated to the Stores We Buy Food In” is attempting to answer some of those questions and a whole lot more.

“Groceries,” which launched this past week on Stitcher Premium from the uproarious minds of Bryan Safi and Erin Gibson, takes a hilarious look at various grocery chains including their histories, often insane social media presences, and of course, what’s good, bad, and downright odd about shopping at them. Ultimately a final score of 1-10 cotton candy grapes is bestowed on each but nothing is ever taken too seriously, and the pair give themselves plenty of slack to go off on their world-famous tangents.

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The duo has helmed another hit comedy podcast called “Throwing Shade” since 2011 where they discuss issues (or ‘ssues, pronounced “shoes”) related to women and the LGBTQ community (can you handle it?), but when they found themselves talking about groceries and grocery store experiences about as much as anything else, they decided to devote an entire weekly podcast to the subject.

Silly as it may be, there is much to be learned from “Groceries.” In the pilot episode, for instance, Bryan dives into national grocery chain Albertson’s and their little known “word of the day” promotion which is ultimately a daily product the store announces via their Facebook page—then if a customer repeats it out loud at checkout, they receive it free of charge. Score!

Related Reading: Trader Joe’s Whistleblower Employee Reveals All

And did you know Trader Joe’s California pressed olive oil is your best bet since bottles that come from Italy or Greece are not as well-regulated and may not actually be the pure olive oil they claim to be? Well, I didn’t either until grocery store whizz-kid Bryan Safi brought it up on “Groceries!”

Things can get real on “Groceries,” too; in one segment, Erin tears into her local West Hollywood Whole Foods, with which she maintains a burning love-hate relationship. She spills a little corporate tea on Whole Foods CEO John Mackey who apparently involved himself in some shady undercover online trolling back in 2007 when the gourmet grocery giant (now owned by Amazon) was attempting to buy the smaller chain, Wild Oats. Though West Hollywood Whole Foods scores a measly 1 cotton candy grape, the location is ultimately redeemed by Erin’s all-time favorite quirky cashier and the fact that they carry a rare lemon curd yogurt.

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Both Bryan and Erin live in Los Angeles so the podcast has a slight west coast bent but both also hail from Texas and lived in New York (and Bryan for a short time in Milan, Paris) so they’ve done enough global grocery shopping to keep things relatable.

Related Reading: Check Out Our Other Favorite Food Podcasts

Each episode also ends with a mailbag where the comedians field grocery and grocery shopping-related questions from listeners like “Is it rude to shop with headphones in?” or “How do you avoid extra packaging at the grocery store?”

Their answers may surprise—and inform—you. At the very least they’ll make you laugh.

“Groceries” is available only on Stitcher Premium and thus is behind a paywall for non-subscribers. The first episode was released through the regular “Throwing Shade” feed for free. You can listen to the first episode of “Groceries” here.