Are your grocery bills getting bigger?

I've been wanting to write this post for a couple weeks now; I've started several times but have always stopped and scrapped my drafts because I'm just not sure how to approach the whole thing.  This is not a happy subject.  It is, however, an important subject - vital, even - and I want to get my thoughts out of my head and into the blog.

So, have you been to the grocery store lately?
Have you noticed anything different over the past couple-few months?


It's not just you.

Maybe you've noticed your food packaging getting smaller, such as the former 64oz jugs of orange juice suddenly morphing into 59oz jugs.  One of my favorite sites, Consumerist, terms this phenomenon the Grocery Shrink Ray.  When that jug of OJ decreased in size it didn't decrease proportionately in price; in fact, it's crept up in price even though the size reduction has stayed the same.  What about coffee?  A year ago I was buying 36oz canisters of coffee for $8.99; today those canisters are 33oz and are running $11.69.
Let's do a little math on that.  36oz of coffee at $8.99 works out to $.249/oz while  33oz of coffee at $11.69 works out to $.354/oz.  That's an increase in price per ounce of 42%!

What about cereal?  Andy's a huge fan of cereal so it's something we buy frequently.  Thanks to couponing we've been able to get those $4 boxes of cereal for $.49-.75 each - that's been my stock up price.  Lately, though, the great sales combined with great coupons for cereal have dried up like the Gobi and I've had to adjust my stock-up price.  Now?  At $.99 per box we'll grab a few (er, well, we will once Andy eats some of the 35 boxes we have on the shelf).  That's a 32% increase in price.

It doesn't seem to matter which aisle you're in or what you're buying; the prices at the grocery store are going up left & right.  From canned goods to meat to fresh produce, everything is getting more expensive and the coupons are not getting any better.

What's going on?

There are a lot of places to point fingers, but what it comes down to is one simple phrase: food inflation.  Our food is getting more expensive and there's no single source to blame (well, there is, but this is a blog about frugality in general, not my soapbox for current affairs).

Start with the obvious - the price of raw materials is going up.  The raw materials, or commodities, I'm talking about include corn, wheat, coffee beans, sugar, beef, and so on - the basic components of what we eat and what our food eats.  How much have they gone up?  Well, hold on to your britches.  Over the past six months:
sugar prices are up 82.6%
corn is up 59%
coffee and rice are both up about 41%

And, while we're at it, on 2/22 oil increased to its highest price in over two years.  How do you think our food gets from field to factory to supermarket? 


Many large food companies have already issued warnings that prices will continue to rise, including Kraft, Kellogg (*ahem* cereal prices),  Hormel and General Mills (more cereal!), Smucker, Sara Lee and ConAgra, and the list goes on and on - and it isn't just here in the US, either.  Worldwide, food prices have increased 29% from a year ago according to the World Bank.

In a nutshell, the prices of raw materials are skyrocketing due to various factors and those price increases are passed on to us, the shopper.
Price increases are a part of life.  Have you ever said to yourself, "Jeez, I remember when gas was under a buck a gallon!" or "I used to be able to eat pretty well for $20 a week!" when looking at your latest trip to the gas station or grocery store?  I certainly remember those days, but also consider what sort of income you were bringing in when things were so much cheaper.  I think it's pretty safe to say that one's average income increased significantly between 1995 and 2005, so those price increases didn't sting too badly.

But now....now....has your income increased 29% from a year ago to match the general increase in food prices? 

*crickets*

In case you haven't noticed, our economy is kind of messed up.  Don't buy into the hype that we're in a "recovery," or that the stock market increasing makes everything better.
It's bullshit.  Really, it is.
Ask the 14% of Americans currently relying on food stamps if everything is all better.
See, therein lies the biggest problem.  Food inflation at its current rate is tough on the average person, but it can mean skipped meals and poor nutrition for someone on a very fixed budget.

What can you do?

Coupons & sales.  Considering you're reading this post, hopefully you've taken at least some of my advice to heart and have clipped a few coupons, maybe stocked up on a few extra items to keep on hand.  Remember, if you can get something for free or pennies now, you don't have to pay dollars for it later.

Cook more.  It's cheaper to make a big pot of spaghetti that will feed 8 people than it is to go out to eat for 8 plates of spaghetti at $10 each.

Quit wasting so much good stuff!  My Grandpa grew up during the Depression (the first one, not our current cluster).  When I was growing up, in much more prosperous times, I never could figure out why Gramps always insisted on saving the gross bones and yucky bits left over from a turkey dinner.  Well, see, back in his younger years, you didn't waste food.  In fact, it's only been in recent years that we've forgotten how to utilize all parts of our food and that includes meat bones and other "nasty bits."  Gramps used that turkey carcass to make stock, to which he added vegetables and leftover turkey meat to create gallons of turkey soup to freeze and eat later.  His Grandma did it; in fact, there's a bit of a running joke in my family about Chicken Foot Soup.  During those Depression years, his Grandma would make a soup for Sunday dinner from bones, necks, and chicken feet.  Back then it was frugal; nowadays world-famous chefs know that bones, necks and feet make the richest, tastiest chicken stock.  Don't waste anything.

Back to the basics.  Learn to make bread, can or pickle vegetables, or to cut a large piece of meat down into manageable sized portions.  Think about the way people ate 80 years ago and make a point to learn at least one trick or method used commonly then but rarely now that will save you some money.  Grow a small garden, even if it's a single tomato plant in a bucket on your front porch.

Consider less expensive substitutes.  Don't throw up your hands and buy a few cases of ramen noodles to feed yourself for the next month.  Beans and eggs are two overlooked sources of protein that are cheap, filling, tasty, and easy to prepare - not to mention nutritious.  Buy produce that's in season locally rather than out of season, imported stuff (i.e. tomatoes in February does not equal in season locally here in Ohio).

Make a plan and stick to it.  Know how much you can comfortably afford to spend before you set out for the grocery store and don't go over that amount.  Have a list prepared and only deviate from it if you find a less expensive substitute.  Don't go shopping hungry.

Share if you're able.  I've mentioned several times about donating any excess items you may get from this whole "couponing as a sport" thing to shelters and food pantries in your area.  Now is a really great time to do this if you find yourself with a shit-ton of pasta or even a few extra cans of vegetables.  If you're noticing the increase in food prices, imagine how obvious it is to someone who has to feed themselves and their family with $150 per month in food stamps.  

Hope for the best.  Really, that's about all you can do.  Stock up on cheap food as much as you're comfortable stocking, but even with a bomb shelter full of MREs all you can do is hope that things reach a balance.  With any luck we'll somehow get out of this without too much pain...I hope.