Moms' new battle: The food price bulge

[maddythebeagle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Notmuchlonger Good time to be a rice farmer eh? abc7news.com: Food crisis makes California rice prices increase 4/22/08 time to cut out those government subsidy's

Wal-Mart-owned Sam's Club limits rice purchases - Yahoo! News

looks like sam's club has a limit of one bag now...I can just see all of the people loading up..."we dont need a big ol bag o rice, but hey since they are limiting it, we should pick up a bag"

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 Is it really cheaper? I can see WTR's point about convenience and storage, if you don't use much milk, but cheaper?

To be honest I wasn't sure if it still is, so I googled it. Here's a recent webpage on that topic:

Saving Money with Powdered Milk

It concludes that fresh milk costs between $3.50-$4.50/gallon in most places, or $2/gallon in dairy regions, and that nonfat dry milk costs less than $2/gallon.

I did a price comparison about eight years ago, but due to the convenience and storage advantages (and the fact that I am twisted enough to think nonfat dry milk is yummy) I haven't compared prices lately, and just buy it 'cause I want it and ignore the price. (See, Orchidflower? I try to LBYM but there is definitely room for improvement. )

I buy the HUGE boxes that are only available in a few stores - - you probably wouldn't save much on those itty bitty boxes that are more commonly seen.

I also buy fresh skim milk regularly, because I'm not convinced that nonfat dry milk is as good a source of vitamins as fresh milk. When the fresh milk runs out, I switch to powdered.

[ERD50]

Saving Money with Powdered Milk

Thanks W2R, I''ll have to see if Costco carries it - the local grocery I checked, it seemed pretty high.

As far as taste, I suppose it depends what you are used to. I drink skim *on* stuff, like oatmeal, rarely drink milk straight. But here is a real 'ringing endorsement' from that site:

Quote:

powdered milk tastes a lot better than it used to.

Not exactly a top-notch marketing slogan.

When we were kids, Thanksgiving was always at my Great Aunt & Uncles, they had no children. My sibs and cousins always said to my Mom - 'the milk tastes funny - like chalk - it sticks in my throat'. My Mom would always brush it off ' eat your green beans, the milk is just not as cold as you are used to, they didn't have room in the fridge for everything'. Decades later, she let on that it was powdered milk... Geezz, Auntie couldn't buy a gallon of milk for the kids one day a year (rest her soul)?

-ERD50

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 Not exactly a top-notch marketing slogan. -

True! That really isn't very confidence inspiring.

[Walt34]

Reminds me of "The Great Toilet Paper Shortage".

[Notmuchlonger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 Reminds me of "The Great Toilet Paper Shortage".

Ya thought I could get by with some leaves in the back yard. Damned if it wasnt poison oak.

[Wags]

ABC News - Food Prices Skyrocket; How to Save at the Market

ABC News: Food Prices Skyrocket; How You Can Save at the Grocery Store

Excerpts from the article

In the past two decades food prices have only increased by an average of 2.5 percent each year, Leibtag said. But from 2006 to 2007, prices spiked 4 percent. And this year they show no sign of easing. The Department of Agriculture is forecasting a 4-5 percent increase in retail prices this year.

The cost of white bread alone was 16.3 percent higher in March than at the same time last year, according to the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks inflation through the Consumer Price Index.

Grade A large eggs were up nearly 35 percent during the same period and sliced bacon was up 4.6 percent.

Sliced bacon rose from $3.46 a pound last March to $3.62 a pound this March, an increase of 4.6 percent.

The price of chocolate chip cookies has increased 2.1 percent in the past year.

The price of all-purpose flour has gone up 37 percent in just one year.

A gallon of whole milk has gone from $3.07 to $3.78, a 23-percent jump.

Tomatoes have gone up more than 18 percent.

White, long-grain rice has seen a 6.6-percent price increase.

End of excerpts.

The article gave one of the reasons for the recent price hikes is the use of corn in the making of ethanol.

Folks it looks as though some of us will have to decide whether we want to put gas in our vehicles or eat a good meal.

GOD BLESS US ALL

[UncleHoney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wags A gallon of whole milk has gone from $3.07 to $3.78, a 23-percent jump.

I bought milk Tuesday afternoon, regular price is $2.99/gal, got it on store special for $2.50.

I was checking out the price of rice, 69.9¢/pound for 10 pounds. I remember paying 35¢/pound a few years ago.

[Wags]

Quote:

Originally Posted by UncleHoney I bought milk Tuesday afternoon, regular price is $2.99/gal, got it on store special for $2.50. I was checking out the price of rice, 69.9¢/pound for 10 pounds. I remember paying 35¢/pound a few years ago.

This week we got some milk and it was $3.79 on special. The regular price varies from $3.99 to $4.25.

We get our rice at an Oriental Store (70 miles away) and last month we paid $16.99 for a 25 lb bag.

GOD BLESS US ALL

[Bimmerbill]

My wife has chickens. They eat just about anything. In the summer they roam the yard keeping the ant and tick population in check.

Feed is 13 ot 14 a 50lb bag of layer pellets. We used to have 18 chickens, which gave us 18 eggs a day. that was a lot of eggs... Down to 5 old ones now, they don't put out and are welchers, but wife considers them pets, not lifestock.

I suffered thru the powdered milk thing when I was growing up. I had two brothers, and we could swill down a couple gallons of milk a day.

Something about sucking down a nice big glass of milk and choking on an unmixed glob of powdered milk... Disgusting! We revolted and mom bought real milk.

[Khan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bimmerbill My wife has chickens. They eat just about anything. In the summer they roam the yard keeping the ant and tick population in check. Feed is 13 ot 14 a 50lb bag of layer pellets. We used to have 18 chickens, which gave us 18 eggs a day. that was a lot of eggs... Down to 5 old ones now, they don't put out and are welchers, but wife considers them pets, not lifestock. I suffered thru the powdered milk thing when I was growing up. I had two brothers, and we could swill down a couple gallons of milk a day. Something about sucking down a nice big glass of milk and choking on an unmixed glob of powdered milk... Disgusting! We revolted and mom bought real milk.

I grew up on unpasteurized unhomogenized milk from family farms. When I went to school, they gave me packaged milk (I didn't like it). I haven't had milk in years. I do eat cheese and yogurt.

[Wags]

Christian Science Monitor - As food prices shoot up, so do backyard gardens

Gasoline and food price spikes have had what could be called a 'Miracle-Gro' effect on the backyard garden movement.

As food prices shoot up, so do backyard gardens | csmonitor.com

Backyard gardens have caught on.

Hey, is anybody out there doing the backyard gardens?

Last year Mrs. Wags did a backyard garden and this year she is doing one again. Last year we co-op'ed with some of our neighbors and we traded and exchanged the fruits and vegetables from the gardens.

God Bless Us All

[bbbamI]

Nah...I live in TX. It would cost $2k to buy "good dirt" and $1k for water. All this for 2 tomatoes.

[Khan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wags Christian Science Monitor - As food prices shoot up, so do backyard gardens Gasoline and food price spikes have had what could be called a 'Miracle-Gro' effect on the backyard garden movement. As food prices shoot up, so do backyard gardens | csmonitor.com Backyard gardens have caught on. Hey, is anybody out there doing the backyard gardens? Last year Mrs. Wags did a backyard garden and this year she is doing one again. Last year we co-op'ed with some of our neighbors and we traded and exchanged the fruits and vegetables from the gardens. God Bless Us All

I have been increasing backyard gardening, and doing a sort of sharecropping with a neighbor in exchange for labor.

[FIREdreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wags Hey, is anybody out there doing the backyard gardens?

Yep doing a backyard garden this year, though not really by necessity. We have started to harvest the radishes, salads, cilantro, parsley, basil and strawberries. The potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and zucchinis are blooming. We also have beets, onions and swiss chard.

[Walt34]

No garden here - tough to grow anything in shale rock with some poor soil mixed in.

[Wags]

NBC News - High costs land on school cafeteria trays
Rising food, fuel to drive up student meal prices by as much as 50 percent

High food costs hit school lunch trays - Consumer news - MSNBC.com

Excerpts from the article

When America’s schoolchildren return to class in the fall, they will learn a painful lesson in economics: Higher food and fuel prices are forcing up the price of school breakfasts and lunches across the country, by as much as 50 percent in some districts.

The cost of staples that make up the backbone of school meal programs has soared in the past year, far outstripping federal subsidies. While inflation has driven up the price of milk by 12 percent, cheese by 15 percent and bread by 17 percent, the National School Lunch Program has increased what it pays local school districts to feed 30.1 million schoolchildren by only 3 percent.

And pricier ingredients aren’t the only culprit.

Even at $8.2 billion a year, the federal subsidy “hasn’t kept up with rising food costs, with rising labor costs, fuel costs, benefits costs, even,” said Erik Peterson, a spokesman for the School Nutrition Association, a nonprofit foundation representing school food workers nationwide. “All those costs are adding up.”

The math is plain: About half of schoolchildren receive free lunches. On average, the cheapest of those lunches now costs $2.66 to prepare, the School Nutrition Association calculated. But the federal subsidy for a free lunch is only $2.47. That means schools lose at least 19 cents on every one of the 15 million free lunches served every day.

Counterintuitively, schools lose even more money when students pay full price. The average charge for a high school lunch is $1.90, the association found. The federal government kicks in only a 23-cent subsidy for those students, meaning a loss of at least 53 cents on every lunch sold at “full
price."

End of excerpts.

Folks things are getting bad all over.

God Bless Us All

[Marquette]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 No garden here - tough to grow anything in shale rock with some poor soil mixed in.

I highly recommend this book:

Amazon.com: McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers: Rose Marie Nichols McGee, Maggie Stuckey: Books

I'll see if I can find the plans again for a very simple cedar stand for growing a wonderful salad mix.

[Purron]

I know there are a lot of animal lovers on this board so I'm surely not the only one noticing how much pet food has gone up. Fancy Feast cat food is now 50 cents a can at discount retailers up from about 35 cents last year. Here's a recent article on the subject: Inflation Gnaws at Pet Food Companies

[Wags]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purron I know there are a lot of animal lovers on this board so I'm surely not the only one noticing how much pet food has gone up. Fancy Feast cat food is now 50 cents a can at discount retailers up from about 35 cents last year. Here's a recent article on the subject: Inflation Gnaws at Pet Food Companies

We have a dog, a cat and a rabbit and the food, the cat litter and the bedding have all gone up. The toys for them have also gone up.

We also have 3 children is school so the increase in the school lunches will be felt come September.

We are kid lovers and animal lovers.

God Bless Us All