The difference between Wal-Mart‘s 5 percent sales gain and Target‘s 4 percent loss: groceries.

The Pioneer Press writes today about Target’s attempts to close the grocery gap with Wal-Mart.

Groceries are a big part of the reason why Wal-Mart is outperforming Target in recent quarters. In a recession, people stop buying cheap furniture but most still eat.

Target is selling more food, but a typical SuperTarget still stocks less than half of the groceries of a comparable Wal-Mart Supercenter, the paper reports.