Posted on 03/26/2012 2:41:28 PM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
According to the federal government, food prices rose 4.4 percent in 2011.
That’s hogwash.
I do a lot of the grocery shopping for my family (my wife cooks wonderful meals and cleans up the kitchen – it’s only right that I help in some fashion).
And I can tell you, from direct experience, that food prices are skyrocketing.
We buy most of our groceries from Sam’s Club, Reasor’s, Food Pyramid, Wal-Mart and Braums. You tend to buy groceries close to your home (you don’t want the ice cream to melt on the way home).
We are charter members of the Sam’s Club near 41st Street and Sheridan Road. We live half-way between that Sam’s and the one at 71st Street and Mingo Road.
At Sam’s, we save money by buying food in bulk. For instance, we buy grated cheddar cheese in a big package. We take it home, repackage it in smaller freezer bags and freeze it.
We buy fish, hamburger, bottled water, fruit (canned and fresh), toilet paper, paper towels, peanut butter, oatmeal, spices, rice, flour, charcoal, bagels, vitamins, shaving cream, rotisserie chicken (its great) and lots of other stuff at Sam’s.
You can’t get everything you need at Sam’s and you never, never, ever want to go in there when you are hungry. You will come out with a case of asparagus or a gallon jar of dill pickles (which we did once – it took us a year to eat all of it).
In the past year, I can’t think of any single item we buy at Sam’s that hasn’t risen in price. They still have some of the best prices in town, but rice has gone up maybe 30 percent, hamburgers 40 percent, toilet paper 20 percent – and the list goes on and on.
Reasor’s is a block from our house. They carry a lot of stuff that we can’t buy at Sam’s and Reasor’s has terrific sales. The staff at Reasor’s is always friendly and they will check in the back if a product is sold out on a shelf.
We buy produce, meats, bread, soup, chips, cookies, cheese, juice, dairy products, frozen food, cereal, baking goods and other stuff at Reasor’s.
Everything has gone up – even sales items. During their periodic “12-hour sales,” Reasor’s used to sell Coke or Pepsi products at $2 for a 12-pack of 12-ounce cans. Now, the sale is around four packs for $11.
I can remember buying Oreo’s on sale for $1.99. Now, it’s a sale if they cost $2.99. Cottage cheese that used to go on sale for $1.99 is now on sale at $2.79.
Obviously, there are some produce items that might be selling for less than a few years ago but that would be the exception.
And Reasor’s has some killer meat sales (pardon the bun) but unless you have extra freezer space, it’s hard to take advantage of bulk buying. We have a refrigerator in the kitchen and one in the garage and both freezers are usually packed (with mostly meat).
Food Pyramid has some great sales but overall, their prices seem a bit higher than Reasor’s. We buy a lot of hard goods at Wal-Mart but not a lot of groceries.
We buy milk and ice cream at Braum’s. Braum’s milk just seems to taste better and they have the best price in town. Braum’s ice cream is outstanding but awhile back, they went from a half-gallon carton to a three-pint carton – which I considered a price increase.
So our family strategy is:
1. Buy in bulk at Sam’s and repackage.
2. Buy more than you need on sale at Reasor’s and Food Pyramid.
3. Eat more at home and less at restaurants.
4. Grow fresh produce in our back yard this summer.
5. Buy fewer processed foods (they actually sell frozen Texas toast) and cook more at home.
With gasoline set to rise over to $4 a gallon this summer, groceries will have no choice but to continue raising prices.
Last year, former President Bill Clinton actually warned that there could be food riots around the world in 2012 because of political unrest, famines, droughts, floods, earthquakes and other problems.
In Tulsa, not only are grocery costs soaring but the trash bill, water bill, electric bill and gas bills are all potentially increasing by double digits.
I don’t know how people on fixed incomes will cope. (I don’t know how ordinary people can afford to smoke, drink at bars or gamble at casinos, either – but that’s another column).
Maybe it’s time we elect another president who has policies that will stem grocery inflation instead of putting America’s middle class further in the poor house.
Plus, it starts drying out as soon as you grate it and in doing so, changes the taste. I do not buy it for that reason. The same can be said for fruit already cut and sold in cups in the produce department. You can taste the difference.
Where I live a nice chunk of Parmesan, Romano, etc. costs more than the pre-grated packaged stuff.
For everyday use we buy the pre-grated - it is a special treat to buy a block and grate it as needed.
Crazy world.....
As I do a lot of grocery shopping because I like to cook. Mama likes it also. I can tell you for a fact, the things I purchase have risen 25% percent or better over the past 18 months. I watch the prices and I know. You can take it or leave it, but I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is brothers and sisters.
I agree kiltie, I shop once a month, I used to spend under 300. a month. Now I have to scrimp and nickel and dime myself, to keep it under 600. So the overbill has more than doubled. Still cheaper than trying to do it once a week, separating pkgs and freezing, etc, but even doing it once a month, I have to leave some things out and switch to generic, not to mention go to 4 different stores to keep it double. Otherwise it would be more!
We shop at Sam’s too. We also shop at Aldi’s and buy Walmart’s Great Value brand. It’s just as good as the name brands. I buy meats on sale even when we don’t need them. I stocked up on coffee recently when there was a good sale and I had coupons. Gardening season is upon us and we’ve already planted some hardy stuff. Our neighbors probably wonder how two people can eat so much!
” Walmart’s Great Value brand. It’s just as good as the name brands. “
I’ve found occasions where the GV product is more expensive than the brand-name equivalent...
Walmart is sneaky that way, and ya gotta watch ‘em every minute.... ;)
Our local 4-H has a cheese sale every year. We buy a 5lb block for $15.00. I wish I had ordered two of the sharp cheddar instead of one. We’re gonna have to make the one last!
“hamburgers 40 percent”
That’s because they can’t use pink slime anymore!
;)
I've noticed a trend on foods sold in jars/plastic containers like Peanut butter and such. The volume of the package will be smaller but the package looks to be the same size. The do this by putting an indent in the bottom of the container. (visualize a cone in the bottom of the package the points towards the lid.)
“hamburgers 40 percent”
That’s because they can’t use pink slime anymore!
;)
We shop at Sam’s about once a month for non-perishables (T-paper, beverages, cereals, pasta); yes the prices are way above a year ago. I go to the local farmer’s market once a week, where I buy all my fresh produce and meats. The prices there have risen, but only slightly, nothing like in the grocery store. I can still get fresh chicken, beef and pork right from the local (farmer) butcher at reasonable prices. I feel very lucky to be able to do so.
I love the sharp cheddar. It is what my father used to call rat cheese. You could buy a wheel of it wrapped in cheese cloth. Was so good.
Yeah, I try to watch, but I do get bamboozled every now and then. They seem to rotate which items they raise and lower prices on. Lately the GV butter and cream cheese is lower but other things go up. Most of the stores around here lower the cost of eggs, cream cheese and butter for Easter. I try to take advantage of that, especially since I’m baking tons of cookies for son’s wedding in May!
And that is a really good price. I buy about 3 oz of gruyere for $12.00
Yikes. If there is a Trader Joes near you, it is 10.50/lb there. I just bought some last week.
The prices of groceries and gas have held pretty steady, once you exclude the volatile food and energy categories. /s
It could also be silicon dioxide.
Average thanksgiving dinner was up 13%
Oh that is wonderful news. Thanks. A Trader Joes is opening here soon. We have not had one in San Antonio before. I look forward to the opening. Look at Everyday Food for Spinach Cheese Puff. It uses the gruyere. It is my 9 year old grandson’s favorite dish ever. He eats three helpings of it before he eats anything else. It is three pkgs of frzn spinach, thawed and squeeezed, some heavy cream, nutmeg and gruyere...off the top of my head. It is really good. And thanks again.
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