Basic foodstuff more expensive

[lucille]

Originally Posted by pingem

That's interesting Lucille. What type of products do you usually buy organic?

We buy milk as organic and lettuce on a regular basis.
Organic eggs are only about fifty cents more compared to eggs at the store.
The price we have paid for grass fed beef is about the same as the regular grocery store beef. Not officially organic but raised near organic.

[Milehimama]

I have noticed it, but I cook mostly from scratch. For example, in my neck of the woods, eggs doubled OVERNIGHT from 90 cents a dozen to $1.93. I'm coping by buying medium eggs and we're not having egg salad, etc. for lunch (used to be a frugal staple... now, not so much.)

I noticed over December every time I went to the store the prices were higher and higher - sure, it's only a nickel here or a dime there, but it was for almost every single thing (having a price book really helped me see that!). I'm buying milk at Sam's Club- it's over $1 cheaper per gallon. Powdered milk has gone up so much around here it costs about the same as fresh, so even that cost saving strategy isn't working any more!

[triathing]

A lot of it has to do with the price of oil. If oil costs more, it costs more to produce food (fertilizer) and get it to the grocery store (transportation).

We raise chickens for eggs and meat, but it's not saving us as much money as it once did. We have to buy about a half-year's supply of feed for 25 hens. So we're paying nearly $25 per bird for a year of feed.

The hens lay about 200 eggs per year, and we put them in the stew pot at the end of the year, so we still come out ahead. But the feed costs do cut into the margins, for sure.

[purplefdu]

We noticed milk increasing mostly because of the local ice cream shop. The owner is a friend and was discussing/sharing the prices he pays and the increases which effects his costs as well. I noticed the egg jump as well which ticked me off. The basic staples of bread, milk, eggs, flour, butter have become the expensive part of the grocery list, not the cheap base.

[rstlne]

Originally Posted by snakeeyes

I haven't noticed it myself, but that's more of an indication that I eat out too much....

Prices will rise even if you eat out. I've seen menu prices go up, not continuously but in jumps here and there. Just the day before yesterday, I was at Burger King and I saw someone sticking new prices on all the menus.

[jdp]

Since I voluntarily started spending more on food to get locally grown, organic or something else costing more I thought I'd not be bothered by grocery store food prices but JEESH getting milk for my son is starting to make me nuts. People gripe about the cost of gas... try fueling my son! He's on rations now. lol

To offset some of the increase in prices I've volunteered for this last year I started a porch/container garden for some produce and herbs. I'm wishing I would have figured out a way to keep it inside for winter too.

We have a csa (found through local harvest) but its such a far drive (everything here is) that it makes it hard to justify using it.

[Gootsy]

Yeah I've definitely been noticing it.

One thing I've started doing, is buying more Ham/Pork. You can get some hams for a good price, that have lots of protein and very little fat. I'm not talking less fat than skinless chicken breast, but maybe a little less than skinless chicken thighs.

Also I read a report 2-3 weeks ago that the price of ham in North America has gone down over the last year. But in China, the price of pork/ham has gone up >20 percent!

I've started going to the local dairy for organic milk as well now. It was once way more expensive. Now... very comparable, and very good. Milk from glass container = very delicous

[lucille]

Originally Posted by Gootsy

Yeah I've definitely been noticing it.

One thing I've started doing, is buying more Ham/Pork. You can get some hams for a good price, that have lots of protein and very little fat. I'm not talking less fat than skinless chicken breast, but maybe a little less than skinless chicken thighs.

Also I read a report 2-3 weeks ago that the price of ham in North America has gone down over the last year. But in China, the price of pork/ham has gone up >20 percent!

I've started going to the local dairy for organic milk as well now. It was once way more expensive. Now... very comparable, and very good. Milk from glass container = very delicous

I was in one of the slightly higher priced grocery stores last week. They carry one of the national brands of organic milk in gallon jugs. I don't buy it because the store brand organic from a nearby dairy is always cheaper. I did notice that the price on the brand name organic was eight dollars a gallon. Wow. The store brand organic we get isn't that much more than non organic but both have steadily gone up in price.

[Xin Lu]

I only drink milk and eat cereal at my company because it is provided. Otherwise it is pretty darn expensive and goes bad quickly too.

[amandajane]

Less than 6 months ago butter here was $2.00, now it's $4.50 which is an unexplainable increase in price. Milk used to be $5 for 5 liters, now it's $6.40 minimum. It seems that the staple items are becoming more expensive here too, if it carries on this way I don't know what I will do, being on a very limited income I have to make the best of what I've got, that's not easy in the current environment.