Rising food prices

[buttercup]

Huge pet peeve of mine...

Used to, three or so years ago, you could get a 32 oz. jar of Hellman's mayo for 2.99.

Now Hellman's has decreased the jar size to 28 oz, and the price is up to 3.99.

Any other southerners here know that it's impossible to live in the south without a steady supply of Hellman's, for deviled eggs, potato salad, and such. Hellman's is a STAPLE food, by gosh.

Well, I've had to give up the Hellman's and I've started buying Walmart brand mayo. It's not Hellman's, but I can no longer afford to buy Hellman's.

Anyway, that's my food pet peeve. Decreasing packaging of foods and raising the prices.

[FLBK7]

Huge pet peeve of mine...

Used to, three or so years ago, you could get a 32 oz. jar of Hellman's mayo for 2.99.

Now Hellman's has decreased the jar size to 28 oz, and the price is up to 3.99.

Any other southerners here know that it's impossible to live in the south without a steady supply of Hellman's, for deviled eggs, potato salad, and such. Hellman's is a STAPLE food, by gosh.

Well, I've had to give up the Hellman's and I've started buying Walmart brand mayo. It's not Hellman's, but I can no longer afford to buy Hellman's.

Anyway, that's my food pet peeve. Decreasing packaging of foods and raising the prices.

I first noticed this trend with Dannon yogurt. From one day to another the containers went from 8 oz to 6 oz -- for the same price.

And even store brands have tried to trick us as well. For example, several years ago I stopped buying Glad/Hefty kitchen trash bags when they got too expensive and switched to my supermarket's brand. I was surprised because the supermarket brand was actually pretty good quality and MUCH cheaper. Well, within the past year I noticed that the quality of the supermarket brand has gone down the toilet and the price has remained steady. They have become so flimsy that they really are not worth buying anymore!

[Abbie64]

i have noticed on a few occasions that prices have done up but sizes have over time been getting smaller.

[BKOnce]

Good (motivation to buy less), and we need to eat LESS to avoid *diabetes*, reduce *cholesterol*, and fight *obesity*, and food waste consumption anyway.

[DanielTodaro]

Anyone who buys groceries or eating in a restaurant knows that food prices have increased, but few people truly understand the global factors that are causing the current situation.

[banca rotta]

Anyone who buys groceries or eating in a restaurant knows that food prices have increased, but few people truly understand the global factors that are causing the current situation.

And for those that don't know I will give you a hint.

<<--Just look at my Avatar....

[dneil]

I paid 3.20 per gallon at the pump today.... I wanted to cry. Rumor has it that gas is going to go up to 5.00 (yes, FIVE DOLLARS) a gallon. If that happens, we will trade in our cars for scooters..... Makes a person just want to give up. Every time things start to look a little more stable for our family, something changes with the cost of living.... like gas going up.

I plan to plant a big garden this year. I will be learning how to can the items that I can 'can'. I am sick of the prices at the grocery store. I paid 2.50 for a large jar of miracle whip at walmart this past summer. So, since it was so cheap there I made a 20 mile trip to walmart to do my shopping specifically because of the cheaper miracle whip and the fact that they had better deals on Taco seasoning, shells and stuff. Got there (this was in November) and the price was up to 3.99! I asked why when I was checking out and she said because it is cheaper in the summer because people use more of it during that time. What bull crap.
It sucks to pay so much for something you are just going to 'poo' out anyway..... (not to be gross but it is true). BAH!

[Hessy3]

That is scary! Guess I'm glad its beginning to be nicer out now so I can pull out my bicycle to avoid these costs as much as possible! I suggest you all do the same...

[andy158]

To fight the high cost of meat we have begun last year buying beef. pork and chicken from a local farmer. The initial cost is a killer because he only accepts cash, but the meat is fabulous. We split the cost with relatives the first year, but this year we are getting a whole beef paid for with our income tax return. The meat is all natural, grain fed, no steroids and extremely lean.
This meat even looks. smells and tastes totoally different form the doctored up meat you see at the stores. The cost of processing is included in the price and we would pay over 3X the cost if we bought the same quantity and cuts at a grocery store over a years time. Your meats are the greatest part of a food budget. We figured with a family of four, a whole beef lasts a year. We had to purchase another small chest freezer (used of course for $75) to fit all the meat in!

If you are close to any local beef, pork and chicken farmers, it is definately worth looking into.

[divya09]

rising prices aren't letting a medium gentry person to live peacefully

[APL]

People will groan at this suggestion, because their food is pure garbage - but if you're having a tight week/month/whatever - Aldi does sell packaged processed food super cheap. Their macaroni and cheese is only $.39, a bag of corn or potato chips is $.1.39, canned veggies are about $.50.

Their fresh produce prices are not competitive (and aren't very good quality), it seems that the larger Mexican/Hispanic produce markets have the best prices and quality.

Eating healthy really is so expensive.

[PELRDL]

I agree with you on the ethnic market suggestion. I hate cheap (read: poor quality food), so I, like many of my neighbors in the affluent California area in which I live, schlep six miles to a nearby Armenian market. The produce/meat are beautiful and reasonably-priced. I also have gotten into the habit of weighing our food portions. That way, we don't get fat by over-consuming food, and very little goes to waste. We are a family of four, and our apartment-sized refrigerator is always half-empty. Additionally, our kids have begged us to stop paying for hot lunch at their schools. I take them to Costco, and they choose what they want for lunch. By shopping at the Armenian market and dropping hot lunch, we've seen our food bill drop by half, and we're now down to $100 per week.

People will groan at this suggestion, because their food is pure garbage - but if you're having a tight week/month/whatever - Aldi does sell packaged processed food super cheap. Their macaroni and cheese is only $.39, a bag of corn or potato chips is $.1.39, canned veggies are about $.50.

Their fresh produce prices are not competitive (and aren't very good quality), it seems that the larger Mexican/Hispanic produce markets have the best prices and quality.

Eating healthy really is so expensive.

[FairyPoor]

We have many roadside stands here in GA. Also Farmers Markets. Many times they seem cheaper but the vegetables and fruits rot so quickly, that unless you use the items that day, it's not worth it and you actually end up wasting money as opposed to saving it.

[PELRDL]

Agreed. That's why I'm not a fan of anything organic!

We have many roadside stands here in GA. Also Farmers Markets. Many times they seem cheaper but the vegetables and fruits rot so quickly, that unless you use the items that day, it's not worth it and you actually end up wasting money as opposed to saving it.

[IamOld]

"Organic"=overpriced.

I've yet to drop less than $170/week (two teens plus 2 adults). I tried ALDI's once, but no one at home would eat their stuff...

I'm amazed that in this land of supposed plenty, good fresh food is the most expensive.

I remember when I was growing up, the rule of thumb was, one grocery bag=$10. Today, one grocery bag equal's your life savings (ok which in my instance is exactly zero :-)