It happens more often than we like to admit, the milk in the refrigerator has gone bad and the kids need cereal in the morning. Where can you quickly go for a half gallon of milk and maybe some orange juice without breaking the bank?

Here is a price comparison of local Georgetown markets and stores that sell food. I picked a half-gallon of milk as the standard. At each location, I selected the lowest priced milk and I tried to get a half gallon of orange juice too. Unfortunately, orange juice was not always available or was only available in an individual serving.

CVS on Wisconsin Avenue and O Street has a lot of options at a good price. A half-gallon was priced at $4.39. Orange juice was $4.39 or $2.88 on special with a CVS card.

Dean & DeLucca's on M Street, not surprisingly, is the most expensive. A half-gallon of milk is $6.50. Clearly this is not an everyday supermarket.

Marvelous Market on Wisconsin Avenue and P Street is the least expensive, which surprised me. At $2.99 (I looked twice!) for a half-gallon of milk, it was a significant deal. No large orange juices.

Georgetown Safeway on Wisconsin Avenue and 34th Street beats everyone except Marvelous Market at $3.79 or $3.49 with a Safewaymember  card. Safeway also stocks orange juice at $3.89 or $3 for members.

Sara's Market on Q Street carries a half-gallon of milk at $4.99, but no orange juice.

Finally, Scheele's on 29th Street has both, with milk running $5.69 for a half-gallon and a half-gallon of OJ costing $4.99.

Running to your neighborhood market may cost you about $1.00 to $1.50 more then going over the hill to Safeway. However, I can not quantify the warmth I felt at each place I shopped. Every time I walked into one of the neighborhood stores I was greeted with a "hello" and "can I help you?" Each local  store had a different feel and clearly identified me as a neighbor and friend.

I think I am going to alternate between the chains and the neighborhood stores for my milk so I can keep my family healthy and keep Georgetown healthy.