Andrew Guckes | Staff Writer
Each year in the spring, Christians around the country choose something to give up for Lent as part of observance of the Easter holiday. Much is made about substituting fish for meat, fruit for candy and decaf for caf. However, Christians are not the only ones whose diets change as a result of religious observance this time of year.
As any Jew knows, we are supposed to surrender any leavened bread products for eight days during the week of Passover in commemoration of our ancestors’ hasty journey out of Egypt. While escaping slavery, these Jews didn’t have time to prepare proper food for the road. Instead, they baked unleavened crackers on their backs under the heat of the North African sun.
Hence, matzo.
Buying matzo is an unnoteworthy task. Distinguishing one brand of plain matzo from another is virtually impossible, and most Jews probably don’t think twice about the box or boxes they pick up off the shelf each spring.
But, in 2025, things are different. The world is more expensive. If you’re putting a little more care into your matzo purchasing this year, nobody can blame you. Luckily, we have compiled a list of local stores to get matzo from and how they stack up to their peers.
For Philadelphia Jews, the most affordable and widest selection of matzo can be found in the same place: ShopRite. A quick scope of the inventory on its website reveals many matzo products, from matzo meal to whole-wheat matzo to chocolate-covered matzo.
The chain has more than a dozen stores around Philadelphia, making it an easy stop regardless of where you live. The frequency of the stores drops off in the suburbs, so just know that if you’re on the outskirts of the Delaware Valley, you may have to travel to a ShopRite for matzo.
ShopRite charges $3.49 for a 12-ounce box of Streit’s Passover Egg Matzos, a product that was chosen as a benchmark because of its availability across stores.
At Wegmans, you’ll find a similar selection of products. Its website shows dozens of different matzo or matzo-related products across all their stores, including various brands of matzo and matzo meal. The major appeal with area Wegmans is that its locations are positioned in opportune spots for suburban Jews. The region’s Wegmans stores dot the outside of the city in a nearly equidistant fashion in nearly all directions. Whether you’re in Fort Washington, King of Prussia or Yardley, you’ll be able to find a Wegmans for your Passover needs. The standardized product for this article, Streit’s Passover Egg Matzos, cost $3.99 for the 12-ounce box, a half-dollar more than ShopRite charges for the product.
At Giant, the massive mid-atlantic chain with Pennsylvania origins, matzo products are sparse and expensive, according to the retailer’s website. A search of online inventory reveals three different types of matzo, as well as two matzo ball mixes and one type of matzo meal.
While Giant’s website inventory doesn’t include the standard egg matzos, Streit’s Lightly Salted costs $7.19 for an 11-ounce box at Giant. That’s almost twice the cost at ShopRite or Wegmans for a slightly smaller amount of product.
Trader Joe’s — the legendary chain of grocers known largely for in-house snacks and products that you can’t get anywhere else — has made matzo in the past, but it seems to be only available at some stores in some years. One online poster on a Trader Joe’s blog shared a picture of a 2024 Trader Joe’s display that boasted 16-ounce boxes of matzo for just $2.69. With prices like that, it might be worth venturing to or calling up your local Trader Joe’s to see if it has matzo in stock.
If you’re the type to opt for a Jewish-owned business whenever possible, this is obviously a good product to be looking for. Matzo is available at any Jewish market large or small this time of year. While prices may vary, the value of supporting another Jew in times of economic uncertainty cannot be overstated. One of the larger Jewish food retailers in the area is House of Kosher, which carries a variety of brands and products. It has spelt matzo, matzo crackers, matzo baked in Jerusalem, milk chocolate and almond matzo and more.
According to House of Kosher’s website, a 12-ounce box of Streit’s Egg Matzo will run you $5.29. That’s a bit more than other chains but not much.
In Egypt, our ancestors ate matzo because they had no other options. Today, we have a variety of options for that very same product, available at our beck and call. And in an age when spending wisely and in-line with your values holds more weight than ever, researching every purchase makes sense: even something as simple as matzo.
