Rise in cost of food

[hugosmoma]

Has anyone else noticed an increase in food prices in the past six months (esp the last three)? We are in Mpls, and shop at SuperTarget, Cub (big box grocery), Trader Joe's and our co-op. The worst increases I have noticed at Target and Cub. Staple items that I buy every week have increased up to fifty cents in some cases. Even Rotel canned tomatoes have gone up at both of these stores twenty cents. It is killing us. We have been spending easily $100 more a month without buying more. Oh, another one that is just driving me crazy is paper products. Toliet paper has gone up $1.50!

Man, and don't even get me started on medical insurance. Our co-pays for meds are $40 in most cases now. It is cheaper not even to use our insurance for two of the medicines my family has used this winter.

I have been listening to NPR, with all the political/election stuff, and of course the economy is on the forefront of that. The debates on the question of recession drive me batty! The people aruging this obviously have enough money not to be seriously put-out by these increases. Frankly, it is making me quite nervous. When you are on a strict budget, how do you deal with these increases?

[my2girlz]

I'm in Forest Lake. I shop mostly at SuperTarget and have definitely noticed the prices have gone. I've noticed 10-20% on a lot of items.

Health insurance is another problem for us. Our copays on meds are now $20 for basic drugs. Luckily that's only my birth control pills, but still that changes my budget.

I don't know how people on tight budgets can handle these drastic increases. I think we'll be noticing some really big things happening very soon.

[HRC121799]

We have absolutely noticed a rise in costs. Even at Costco, just in the last couple of months.

[kittywitty]

Yes! Which is one of the reasons why I'm refusing to buy a house unless I have an acre to grow most of our own. We can't afford not to anymore.

[thriftyqueen]

It is crazy how much the cost of food has gone up. We have had to raise our grocery budget 4 times in the last year to make up for the increase. Grapes at our grocery store were $6.99 a pound a couple of weeks ago. I was shocked. Couldn't bring myself to buy them for that price!!

[celestialdreamer]

Yep, I've been complaining to friends and family about it and they all agree. We had a really good handle on our grocery budget and usually had a little wiggle room for an extra or two each week. Now I've cut back on essentials, buy only the bare minimum of packaged items and I still can't keep on budget. We are in Western WA and shop at Fred Meyer, Costco, Trader Joes and the bulk bins at our local HFS. We are gluten, dairy, and soy free and make most things from scratch. I don't really see a way to cut back anymore without sacrificing quality or eating things we are allergic to...so I'm reluctantly raising our grocery budget.

I'm now also shopping every 2 weeks and being very careful with our meal plans. I'm hoping this works to keep us on track as I can't grow anything myself at this house and we can't really raise the budget much more.

[KariM]

We're in WI and I've noticed big increases in food prices! Planning the same menus and doing essentially the same shopping we're looking at about a 20% increase here.

We also saw a HUGE increase in our medical/dental/vision insurance this year.

[miss_sonja]

I was just going through some old receipts...18 months ago, a carton of 2 dozen eggs was 1.99 at Costco. 12 months ago it was 2.39. Last week, it was almost $4! Scary.

Today at the store I noticed my favourite jam, which used to be 3.99, is now 5.29! I never even paid 3.99 for it, always only buying it on sale at 2/$5. But I guess those days are over:-(.

It's scary is what it is.

[Jadzia]

I noticed this when buying fruit leathers at Trader Joe's. They used to be something like 19 or 29 cents, now they are 49 cents!

I would imagine the price has gone up so much due to the higher gas prices. It costs that much more for food to be transported to the stores so they have had to raise the prices.

[Ruthiegirl]

Oh heck yes!!! Food prices have risen dramatically. I now mix our milk half and half with powdered, buy rice and beans in 50 pound bulk sacks and have an enormous garden planned for the summer to cut food costs.

And from everything I have read, this upward shift in food prices is here to stay. Time to start that victory garden.

[Red]

I live in western Mass and have noticed it too. Green peppers are $1.99, and last winter $1.49 was how much they were when they were too expensive!


I haven't had a grape in ages!

I've been buying whatever I can iin bulk, have switched to less expensive recipes, (like tabouleh once a week for the entree,) and we've had so much soup, we're floating. Nothing is cheaper than soup. Last winter we had it once a week. This weekwe had it 3 times.

French onion soup is cheap to make if you have leftover beef bones to make the broth.

Lots of casseroles. Baking allllllll our own goodies. ANd that 50-75% off bin is my favorite hangout. Got cannoli shells for $.60 a box. Easy, cheap and fun desserts. (I bought 12 boxes!)

Plan your gardens. Think about what you wish you had NOW and start a list. That's what you want to can/freeze for next year.

[VijayOwens]

I used to spend $160-$180 every 10 days or so. Now I am spending $210-$220 every week for two adults and two children.

My grocery store's MVP discounts used to be about 10-15% of my total bill (because I intentionally shop the specials) and now I'm lucky if I save $5.

-Vijay

[Shellie]

Yes, I've been complaining to friends and family too! It's insane! Since Christmas, I've noticed a .25 - 1.00+ increase in almost everything I buy! Even at Wal-Mart!

[wifeandmom]

Up until a couple of weeks ago, we really haven't had sharp increases like I've read about online from other areas of the country.

My last big trip to the grocery store, I was shocked at some of the prices! We bumped up our grocery budget by 20% just as a guesstimate, and while I am very, very thankful for the fact that we *can* do that fairly easily, I couldn't help but wonder how on earth those who have much tighter budgets are able to handle these increases that seem to have come out of nowhere.

I'm also shocked that people actually buy the bulk of their groceries at Super Target. Our Super Target is ridiculously overpriced compared to the major grocery chain we have and Wal Mart. Our grocery chain and WM are pretty comparable overall price wise, but Super Target...they are WAY more expensive for the same stuff.

[DandeCobb]

I'm glad i'm not the only one! i just kept thinking and checking receipts trying to figure out HOW i was spending 15-30 more dollars a week for pretty much the same stuff!

[Usually Curious]

Originally Posted by miss_sonja;10510657[B

]I was just going through some old receipts...18 months ago, a carton of 2 dozen eggs was 1.99 at Costco. 12 months ago it was 2.39. Last week, it was almost $4! Scary.
[/B]
Today at the store I noticed my favourite jam, which used to be 3.99, is now 5.29! I never even paid 3.99 for it, always only buying it on sale at 2/$5. But I guess those days are over:-(.

It's scary is what it is.

thanks to the ethanol scam...

it's not going to get better. i'm stocking my pantry w/our tax refund. buckets and buckets of grains and legumes, too.

wheat futures are pretty scary.

[bwylde]

Yeah, for the longest time I was able to spend $200 a month for groceries. Now I have to spend anywhere from $300 to $400 a month. I keep saying we're going over budget, but I have to finally accept the fact that we have to spend more on groceries, even though it seems like we have less. The base prices of almost everything has gone up. Sales are just not as good as they used to be. We don't have coupons here that are worth using. Flour used to be $5 a bag; now it is $9 for the cheap store stuff. Stores don't mark down their prodce any more, which was my biggest saving. It kills me paying full price for produce! And meat that used to be half off is either impossible to find or only 30% off. But when it is an arm and a leg in the first place, it is still more than I'm willing to pay. We used to eat chicken several times a week but we can't afford it anymore. We're going to get some freezer deals when we have the space (not much cheaper, but it's local).

[Purplehaze]

I agree....

I have had to change my standards, something I am not entirely thrilled with... but with growing boys (now 6 and 12) and a 2 year old, I just can't afford the co op, healthfood store foods and the Trader Joes stuff. I try my best to minimize those things that I think are not good for us, so I try to buy as healthy as I can but unless I find like a super duper clearance I can not afford to buy organic. I shop at aldi a lot now. No organics there.

Our weekly cost for medical has gone up $25 more a week starting n January. We now pay $100 *a week*:. We moved in April to a home that is larger, has more yard, (bigger mortgage too) but it is in the woods, making it hard to garden, but I am planning to try my best to this summer. the increaced mortgage, slighter longer commute for Dh, higher gas prices, higher medical. is leaving me scratching my head- what to cut? I have been a SAHM since 1994 and have had to be quite frugal to do that. We live in CT and Dh is blue collar, yet we make too much to qualify for any help but it sure is tight... when you are already frugal there is not a lot of wiggle room to cut more.

Adding to all this my older son can't have wheat! I am trying hard to make as much from scratch for him as I can but have not found any good wheat free bread recipes- for fully home made... so I do still end up buying him one loaf of wf bread a week. And my youngest can't drink cow milk...

I try to only buy meat by what is on sale, and I shop Aldi for most everything else. We do shop BJs once a month but we try really hard to keep it under $100 a time.


Challenging times we are in!

[Dillpicklechip]

We are in challenging times indeed.

I live in southern Ontario, and I have noticed just about everything at the grocery store creeping up in price, including essential items like milk and bread. The prices just keep going up, and up, and up...this is so hard for us because we are living on less money right now than ever before.

With the exception of essential items like milk, butter, eggs, and flour, I only buy things that are on sale. I go to 3-4 grocery stores every Saturday to take advantage of all the sales. And I don't buy hardly any prepackaged food, I make most things from scratch. Even so, I can never seem to stay within budget. It's exceptionally frustrating, especially when I am health conscious and I wish I could afford to buy organic food for my kids, but there is no way, I can hardly afford the regular stuff.

It's also frustrating because we live in a condo townhouse with a tiny backyard so there is no way I can grow any of our own food...I wish we lived in the country!

[RolliePollie]

I noticed it here too, but I don't think it's as bad as some of you. Potatoes went from $1.89/10lbs to $2.50/10lbs. Pasta went up .29, eggs are up. Celery was up .19 for a while. That's at our local produce market.

I'm going to the big box chain in a little bit and I'll have to check out what their prices are on everything.