Moms' new battle: The food price bulge

[Wags]

CNN article - Moms' new battle: The food price bulge - Beyond clipping coupons, families are embracing generic grocery brands, and making their own baby food and detergent.

Soaring food prices elicit creative solutions from moms - Apr. 21, 2008

Excerpts from the article

As American families face the double whammy of higher gas and food prices, moms nationwide are resorting to considerable ingenuity to stretch their monthly grocery budget.

For instance, Christina Pond of Arlington, Texas, makes her own detergent.

Pond, 26, a stay-at-home mom with an almost 8-month old daughter, does four loads of laundry every other day.

Detergent is very expensive, so I make my own," she said.

She grates natural soap, boils it, adds Borax, baking soda and essential oils, and lets it cool overnight.

To that end, Pond has planted her own herb garden. She buys eggs at the local feed store and pays $4.50 for 20 eggs. She purees vegetables and fruits into home-made baby food.

As a result, she's been able to bring down her monthly grocery bill to under $200.

Linda Murray, editor-in-chief of BabyCenter.com, an online community for moms with more than 4 million subscribers, said thousands of mothers - including those mentioned in this story - have expressed their concerns about gas and food prices through the Web site's message board.

Many more moms are cooking at home, growing their own vegetables, breastfeeding instead of buying expensive formula, using leftovers to stretch the week's meals, and even hoarding discounted products.

End of excerpts.

It's an interesting article which shows how the high fuel prices and the high cost of food is affecting American families. The article also shows great examples of what measures MOMS are taking to cut back and make ends meat. GREAT ARTICLE.

GOD BLESS US ALL

[FinanceDude]

So now let's lose the STUPID ethanol mandate and quit putting our food crop in our gas tanks!!!

End of rant.........

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude So now let's lose the STUPID ethanol mandate and quit putting our food crop in our gas tanks!!! End of rant.........

Not in an election year.

Ha

[maddythebeagle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude So now let's lose the STUPID ethanol mandate and quit putting our food crop in our gas tanks!!! End of rant.........

yes, it is much better for it to be made into corn sweetener and larding our asses We probably should stop subsidizing the growing of high yield corn with poor nutritional value as well...

[youbet]

We'll use land to grow non-food crops, pave over farm land, increase dependency on pretroleum based fertilizers, waste water by irrigating marginal land, etc., and simultaneously increase population until the price of food gets high enough to get our aggregate attention.........

[Wags]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude So now let's lose the STUPID ethanol mandate and quit putting our food crop in our gas tanks!!! End of rant.........

How about using HEMP to fill our gas tanks?

If it's good enough for Willie it should be good enough for the rest of America.

GOD BLESS US ALL

[Notmuchlonger]

Even I catch myself looking for deals at the grocery store. oh wait Ive always done that...

big news in a slow economy..more at 11

No way in hell Im making our own detergent though!

[TromboneAl]

Aha, the ethanol. I was wondering why food was shooting up, especially flour.

Media Revelation: Ethanol is Causing Inflation

[Jeremy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wags Many more moms are cooking at home, growing their own vegetables, breastfeeding instead of buying expensive formula, using leftovers to stretch the week's meals, and even hoarding discounted products.

Wow, who would have thought that you can save money by keeping leftovers instead of throwing everything away for the sake of convenience. Maybe the higher prices are good in a sense that it will force people to use some common sense and stop being as wasteful.

[CuppaJoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeremy Wow, who would have thought that you can save money by keeping leftovers instead of throwing everything away for the sake of convenience. Maybe the higher prices are good in a sense that it will force people to use some common sense and stop being as wasteful.

Yeah, the article could be recycled, rewriten to say that people who are the "victims" of upscale marketing and convenience have a lot of leaway to cut back. The downscaling reminds me of how my grandma lived in the '50s. Still love the image of her wheeling the wringer washer out into the yard on a warm day, and taking a knife to slice her hand-made lye soap into the machine.

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wags Many more moms are cooking at home, growing their own vegetables, breastfeeding instead of buying expensive formula, using leftovers to stretch the week's meals, and even hoarding discounted products.

The humanity...

[kcowan]

Ethanol and corn growing subsidies were two of the dumber moves by government in modern times.

[saluki9]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcowan Ethanol and corn growing subsidies were two of the dumber moves by government in modern times.

Where would you rank it compared to us kicking over that festering ant pile in Mesopotamia?

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saluki9 Where would you rank it compared to us kicking over that festering ant pile in Mesopotamia?

Ah, there are so many dumb moves from which to choose... a veritable smorgasbord of idiocy is available from which to pick and choose.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Saw an article yesterday that suggested that biodiesel and ethanol production increases were behind increased starvation in 3rd world countries as staples diminish and prices go up.

Yet another one of those cases where its good to have the data and the implications of an action before you knee-jerk it into place.

Oh, and we just had a lousy rice crop here in Cali. Expect the price of rice to double up if it hasnt hit you already.

[Wags]

New York Sun article - Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of the World

Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of the World - April 21, 2008 - The New York Sun

Excerpt from the article

Many parts of America, long considered the breadbasket of the world, are now confronting a once unthinkable phenomenon: food rationing. Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks.

End of excerpt.

The food supplies in the U.S as well as the world are not looking good. Even the UN Chief is sounding the alarm as far as a need to increase food production worldwide.

GOD BLESS US ALL

[Sarah in SC]

Hmmm, but then again, is there anything more expensive per pound than packaged cereal? Can't she find a way not to buy sugar-filled overpriced junk food for her kid?
And the eggs: at a national average of $2.17 a dozen, she's overpaying for those feed store eggs.
And the milk? Why not powdered milk if they are really interested in scrimping?

Bah!

[Notmuchlonger]

How much does feed cost for chickens now n days? Is it still cheaper to have your own chickens. Egg or chicken first?

[Wags]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Notmuchlonger How much does feed cost for chickens now n days? Is it still cheaper to have your own chickens. Egg or chicken first?

At least you would know where the eggs are coming from and of course one would know that the chickens had not been violated with growth hormones.

As far as the egg or chicken first I guess that this question might be best answered by Richard Simmons the exercise guru. If not Mr. Simmons maybe by the GREAT Mr. Euell Gibbons.

YouTube - Euell Gibbons For Grape Nuts (fixed sound)

GOD BLESS US ALL

[Notmuchlonger]

Ok but it didn't answer my question if the cost of feed outweighs the cost of buying store bought eggs. Im not worried about violating chickens.