The Cost of Food - Page 3

[babygrant]

Stuff has gone up here and it blows. I went grocery shopping today and went out to my car and just sat there trying not to cry. I only bought the necessities and went waaaaay over what I normally spend.

[aprons_and_acorns]

Originally Posted by babygrant

I went grocery shopping today and went out to my car and just sat there trying not to cry.

It stinks. So many families are struggling.

[UptownZoo]

Originally Posted by pinksprklybarefoot

I can't even really clip coupons because we buy so little processed food.

Yeah. What I wouldn't do for some coupons for, say, apples. Or brown rice, kidney beans, or anything from the bulk foods aisle. We eat very little that's prepared - spaghetti sauce, yogurt, condiments. Such a small portion of our food budget that I can hardly save anything with coupons!

[spughy]

Is anyone else a little suspicious that maybe grocery stores are hiking prices more than they strictly need to, because people are expecting food prices to rise... not quite a self-fulfilling prophecy, but close...

[UptownZoo]

Originally Posted by spughy

Is anyone else a little suspicious that maybe grocery stores are hiking prices more than they strictly need to, because people are expecting food prices to rise... not quite a self-fulfilling prophecy, but close...

Could be, but the places where it's rising kinda make sense. We live out here in the middle of the desert where practically everything has to be trucked in, so high gas prices naturally means high food prices.

Farmers' markets open week after next, thank goodness!

[alysmommy2004]

Originally Posted by barose

For some reason, I haven’t noticed. Is it a regional or specific to certain ways of eating and shopping?

:

I haven't noticed either. My bill is already a little high b/c we buy GF items and as much organic as possible. Fortunately for us we have a lot of local produce and meat so that keeps those prices down a bit. We also got really lucky lately. The store that we do most of our shopping at did a huge Earth Day promotion and gave us 4 weeks worth of coupons for 20% off our entire bill. That's been nice, it's easily saved us $30 a visit.

[becoming]

Yeah. And what really sucks is that I just quit my job. :

[barose]

Originally Posted by cristeen

I'm not noticing it either.

I think in part it is regional... considering how expensive this area is to begin with. But in part it also has to do with the fact that we both buy local and don't eat grain products. Add all of that together and we're not liable to see much of a rise in prices... for a while anyway.

Yeah - I think buying local and no grains/legumes/starches/sugars, etc is what does it for us. Our food bills are already much higher than a lot of people we know because of our diets (about $150-200 a week for two people) as it is. I cant imagine it going much higher.

[Baby Makes 4]

It's pretty brutal where I live. Eggs have always been a staple for us but at nearly $6.00 a dozen for free range eggs that is going to change.

I am having a hard time keeping our grocery bill under $200 each week.

Heck, gas is about $5.25 a gallon up here.

[Baby Makes 4]

Originally Posted by babygrant

Stuff has gone up here and it blows. I went grocery shopping today and went out to my car and just sat there trying not to cry. I only bought the necessities and went waaaaay over what I normally spend.

I'm in BC too and the prices are starting to scare me. I can't find anywhere to trim my budget anymore. Heating oil is costing us $280 a month, gas for the car is $400 a month and now our food costs have jumped by at least 30% in the last few months.

[Parker'smommy]

I haven't personally felt the pinch but I know my friends have. Why not me? I've made it my personal goal this year to spend less at the grocery store no matter what. YES, it takes time, but it's worth it to me. I get all the grocery store fliers and figure out which store has the best prices. Then I match up coupons as much as possible.

I always hear about people complaining that they don't use the stuff that coupons are for, but don't you guys use HBA items? That's a BIG place where I cut my budget. Everyone needs toothpaste, toliet paper ( unless you go cloth there I suppose), deodorant, toothbrushes, cleaning supplies ( and the green ones have coupons too), shampoo, conditioner, soap, detergent, dishwashing soap, sponges, razors, pet products, etc. I get most of that for free so it frees up the rest of my budget for what I need to feed my family of four. Most regular chain stores ( not Trader's or Whole Foods) have super deals once a month at least that give you $$ back to shop there.

I AM lucky to have a Henry's that has great sales on produce and I get great local produce that way our family for under $20 a week. I got avocados for $.33 EACH, apples for $.78/lb. and small baskets of strawberries for $.66 each. I spend about $65 a weekTOTAL and our pantry and fridge are full.

And yes, I spend a lot of time working on my deals/trips, but it's worth it to me.

[SusannahM]

I noticed it, but luckily not on much that we buy yet (I could tell there were new price tags on about 1/2 the items in the store). I also noticed the meat sale prices this week are a *lot* higher than last week.

[DreamsInDigital]

Last week my normal shopping trip was about $50 more than usual. I shop for 2 weeks' worth of food at a time. That was shocking.

[Ellp]

Ok, so its not me going crazy!
My weekly grocery trip has gone from about $75 to just shy of $100 lately and thats just for basics with just a couple of cans of soup thrown in! I drive a van and it costs about $75/fill. Luckily I budget my driving so I only have to fill it up twice a month.

To combat this, a couple of weeks ago I decided that I would start growing my own veggies. I've got lettuce, carrots, beets, beans and peas growing and hopefully that'll help bring down the bills a bit. There's nothing I can do about the eggs ($5.79/doz organic large) or milk ($5.69/2L of Organic) though. I'm thinking of baking my own bread too because a loaf of multigrain Dempsters is $3.99.

[Kidzaplenty]

Some of it hurts more that we don't have choices. We have a Kroger and a Walmart. Nothing else close. And traveling a distance to save a little bit is not worth it either, with the gas costs.

We make as much from scratch as we can, but still the prices are on the rise.

I wish we had farmers markets open here. But then again, the last few years they have not had anywhere near the prices we can get from the big stores. So I don't really know if they would be of any benefit. And I can't bother shopping for "better" stuff or organic stuff. I have a hard enough time feeding the family on the least expensive stuff that is acceptably healthy.

I dread looking into the future and seeing what it will be like come winter, or next year.

[cjanelles]

We're feeling it here.

Not only have grocery prices sky-rocketed (everything is even way more expensive at Wal-Mart, of all places), but we live "out in the country," so I have to drive to town to do my shopping...it is really, really hitting us hard.

Milk is $3.79 gallon.

Gas is $3.69 a gallon.

It just blows my mind.

[Blu Razzberri]

Originally Posted by majazama

May I ask what area of canada you live in?...

I guess I could tell you that I'm in Ontario. But don't stalk me, ok?

Originally Posted by spughy

Is anyone else a little suspicious that maybe grocery stores are hiking prices more than they strictly need to...

I wonder this sometimes; but then I figure that if that were the case; it probably wouldn't be ALL of them like it is here. Who knows. I really hope that's not the case; seeing as how people need food to survive (or so I've been told )

Originally Posted by Parker'smommy

...I get all the grocery store fliers and figure out which store has the best prices...

I do this too...I always have. But it's just not cuttin' it anymore.

So; meat isn't one of the things I've noticed go up. It's pretty much the same price. Milk has gone up about 50c; and both butter and margarine have doubled in price! Fruits and veggies are right around where they're normally at this time of year; but yogurt is high. Bread went up too; but not as much as some of your area's. I guess it really depends on where the stuff is from. I'm right in central Ontario and there's a lot of farms and such around here; so it's probably (mostly...because eggs are abundant around here, but they've still gone up) the stuff that has to come from further away that's getting more pricey.

[oneKnight]

I noticed that I used to could make the grocery budget fit in $100-150, now it's more like $150-200. I'm not sure that the meat has gone up much, and we just don't buy milk since they quit having "our brand" and I have like 3lbs of butter frozen, so I haven't bought any recently, but it just adds up.

I know the prices of everything I usually buy, so I can spot a sale a mile away. Usually the frozen pizza we buy (1 per week) is over $6 each at WalMart but 2 for $9.80ish at Sam's, but this past week it was $4.50 each at WalMart. I would like to get organized and have a price book, but so far I've been doing OK on memory

[menomena]

Given that we don't eat dairy, eggs, soy, corn, wheat (gluten), nightshades, most fruit, nuts, seeds, beef, pork, shellfish, sugar (natural or otherwise), most spices, and legumes (go unresolved allergy issues/unhealed gut/yeast issues!!), our grocery bill is ALWAYS $150-175/wk for the four of us. So, no, we haven't noticed. But I'm sorry that it's getting crazy expensive for everyone else.

Maybe now that it costs the same, people (general people, not necessarily MDC mamas "people" ) can start focusing on healthy, whole, local, organic foods. You know, start branching out of the 10 or so foods that the SAD uses daily...

Let the eco-revolution begin!

[BunnySlippers]

Originally Posted by Blu Razzberri

I'm going to print that and call it my bible!!! (no offense intended towards a real bible)

I just can't believe it! I mean, I was even AT the No Frills grocery store where things are usually cheap. This is such bad timing for things to be so costly. Not that there's ever a 'good timing'; but more that this is the worst timing for me. I'm already skipping a lot of necessary stuff to help my pregnancy be at it's best. I just keep trying to remind myself that at least I have something, and that's better than nothing.

lol I was just going to say try No Frills. Or Food Basics.
I went to No Frills last night for the 3rd time in my life.


I totally know what you mean about the prices. I was at Zehrs(where I used to shop) a few weeks ago, I was doing self-check-out and I had to put almost half of the stuff to the side and get a clerk to take it away. My total was still way over budget.
It was embarassing, dd kept asking me 'why are putting that back?' 'why are we not getting that?' 'but i REALLY WANTED THAT!'.

I shop 'on sale' only at this point. It makes for some fun meals. We also eat to satisfy not fill up.
Im kinda finding the fun side of this.