Grocery Stores in Nanaimo
Report by Anja H.
How and where to go shopping in Nanaimo
Shopping in Nanaimo is not so easy if you don´t have a car. So you basically have five options to buy your food:
First option: You go to “Quality Foods” at 867 Bruce Ave – it is a convenient option for students living off campus. “Quality Foods” is very expensive and sometimes you pay double than in other stores. So it is a good opportunity if you just need some small things – for example toilet paper because your roommate forgot to buy it! Or chocolate if you have ravenous appetite.
Second option: The University Village store is now a Buy Low Foods, and there is a new addition across the street with more stores and restaurants.
Third option: You use the grocery shuttle from the university. There are always two days on which you can use the grocery shuttle. They start at the residences office, so not a long walk. One is on Monday at 6.25 pm and this bus takes you to the superstore. Superstore is a really good supermarket with a huge offer of everything – really everything: food, clothes, drugstore items, technical things etc. It is also very cheap in comparison to Quality Foods and they also have something like own brands – you can identify them because of the yellow packing. You have one hour to do your shopping and then the bus takes you back to the VIU residences. The other grocery shuttle leaves on Wednesdays and takes you to the fairway market – it is more expensive than the superstore though.
Fourth option: You can take the bus from the VIU Bus Loop (it is directly in the front of the International building and the management building) to Walmart. So you have to take the bus line 15 “VIU Connector” to Woodgrove Mall. The drive takes 20 minutes and you have to pay 2.50 CAD for each drive. So in total you pay 5 CAD if you take the bus to Walmart. Walmart is really popular in Canada and the States because it is so cheap. It is cheaper than superstore and any other grocery store – so you save a lot of money if you buy there, but remember you have to pay money for the bus and this adds up. But maybe you will rent a car for some trips, that way you could take a little side trip to Walmart and buy your stuff.
Fourth option: Ask some locals or domestic students with a car! ;) The Canadians are really helpful and friendly – they will help you if you ask them.
