Am fortunate that I have two local Wal-Mart stores that still sell fabric...not always the best qualilty but it certainly beats a not-so-local J_____ store. Yes, they're fat quarters are sometimes less than a fq. I believe that the fq are not actually done in the store but perhaps a clearing house or some localized location? Have you considered buying on-line? Sometimes I've been very fortunate to find some very good cotton fabric at really good prices...stay away from the cheap stuff though.
Besides Hancock's of Paducah, Keepsake Quilting, you might want to try fabric.com I've never been disappointed with my orders. Generally speaking they'll send a weekly about their sales. I recently got an e-mail for my birthday giving me a discount on my order (within 30 days of birthday). Free shipping on orders over $35. (US only). 37" per yard.