I've spent thousands of hours digging through grocery ads, tracking prices, covering store closures and acquisitions, and digging deeper into our local food systems — all with one goal: to help you shop smarter. Food costs are rising. Utility costs are rising. The general cost of living here is making it harder for everyone to get by.
I’ve spent more than a dozen hours each month walking the aisles at stores all around the Portland metro region, meticulously tracking grocery prices and how they shift month over month to provide you all with concrete data. (Branden Andersen/Newsberg)
Stumptown Savings is the only outlet in Portland dedicated full-time to covering all of that. I do more than curate grocery deals:
I run the Portland Price Tracker, tracking prices across 19 stores every month so you can actually see where costs are moving, not just guess.
I've investigated liquor privatization efforts that could reshape how and where you buy alcohol.
I've covered grocery closures and reopenings, and the people and companies behind our local food system.
I’ve made an interactive map and database of 40+ Portland-area farmers markets, so you know what’s open and when.
All of that is free to read. But it's not free to produce. That’s why I’m asking for your help:
Running a media company is hard, especially when you're truly independent and operating solo. Sixteen months in, 195 of you support Stumptown Savings financially — roughly 3% of readers. That's about $15,000 a year, before expenses, before taxes, before paying myself anything. It doesn't come close to covering what this actually takes: 35-plus hours a week, some weeks a lot more.
I need to say something that is a bit tough to bring up. Every week, people thank me and tell me how important this work is, but few of them directly support it. I get it — not everyone can, and that's fine, you'll keep getting everything free either way for as long as I can justify doing this.
But here's the math. I spend about 35+ hours a week on Stumptown Savings. To keep doing that, Stumptown Savings needs to be financially sustainable. If a deals guide has ever saved you real money at the store, an $8/month or $80/year membership pays for itself with a single grocery trip.
This month, I'm trying to grow the Savers Club by about 50% — with a goal of 100 new members. $8 a month, or $80 a year (that gets you two months free).
If we don’t hit this goal, I’ll need to make some changes to Stumptown Savings. I may have to cut back on the reporting I do, or put some content behind a paywall. That’s not a choice I want to make in a cost-of-living crisis.
Will you join us in keeping Stumptown Savings free for everyone to read?
Thank you.
See you at the market,
Bryan,
Stumptown Savings
