Have you noticed food prices lately?

[Architect]

If you have a steady and secure income stream without needing a job, yeah. For those of us still depending on the job market for a while, it's not such a good thing as prolonged deflation is the surest ticket to an economic depression with no jobs.

Deflation usually doesn't mean depression (which is a mostly undefined term anyhow). There are two types, 'good' and 'bad'. Read Gary Shilling to learn more. The Great Depression gave people a skewed view of deflation.

Normally people talk about "retirees on fixed incomes" as the financially unfortunate. In a deflationary spiral, assuming their "fixed income" is from a secure source, they are the big winners economically.

True - there are other winners too. Plenty of ways to profit from deflation, if you're prepared.

 

[mickeyd]

My lone barometer (indicator) of supermarket prices is the rotisserie chicken. It used to cost $4.99 then went up to $5.99 and has been $6.99 for about six months. I'm waiting for it to decrease back to $5.99, but I'm not holding my breath because my fellow shoppers seem to still be making regular purchases at the higher price.

 

[Payin-the-Toll]

~I Like Candy, I Like Candy~!!! I was buying the Russell Stover 12 oz. dark chocolate assortment at Walmart last year on sale for $4.88. Last summer it jumped to $7.98 and above, and never came down. Went to Walmart today and it was $4.44, so I bought one. Did I mention ~I Like Candy~!!!

 

[Shawn]

Last summer, I didn't notice higher prices (except for gas and perhaps fruit). Today, food prices seem to be a little higher for the products I buy. I don't notice an increase in sales.

 

[clifp]

Costco Rotisserie chicken went form 4.99 to 5.49 and is now back to $5.19. Fruit and Vegetable prices are so seasonal that it is hard to tell, but I have notice small decreases in some canned goods.

 

[Eladio]

It seems that prices have really gone up in my area of Texas. Mostly shop at Wal mart, with occasional stops at HEB, IGA, Sav a Lot, if they have things on sale. Cans of corn were .44 cents for most of 2008 and now they are .68 cents. Flour 1.68 for 5 pounds, used to be 1.38. Sugar 1.95 now, used to be 1.49. Canned tuna was .44 cents, now .76 cents. The list goes on and on. The only good news is that we usually keep 3 to 4 months of canned goods and staples on hand and we bought alot of stuff when the prices were lower. I guess the spike in oil prices over the last year finally made it's way to the store shelves. Hopefully, if oil prices are down for awhile, that might translate into lower grocery costs 3 to 6 months from now.

Eladio

 

[Danny]

I knew things were getting weird when my favorite - Bush's Southern Pit Barbeque Grillin' Beans went from $1.20 one week - the next it was $2.49 ....I can get a carton of Breyer's Butter Pecan for under $3.00 lately though.

 

[freebird5825]

dh2b picks up the weekly consumables, like milk, fruit, yogurt.
I do monthly "big list" shopping. I just did a big shop and went into sticker shock. I bought all meat on sale or in bulk packages for cooking in my crockpot and divvying up for later meals.
One of the things that really got to me was seeing a lot of very mature people picking up staple items, looking at the price, shaking their head and returning the item to the shelf with a sad look.
I recently received an email about a local food bank that is not based on income, and available in 43 counties statewide. I am participating myself as a customer and will volunteer to sort and pack units starting in February. I am thinking about publicity already to get the word out to seniors in the local community.
Update:
The parent organization for the Central NY Food Bank is Feeding America, formerly America's 2nd Harvest. see http://feedingamerica.org/about-us/our-brand.aspx Punch in your zip code and you will be directed to local food bank operations.

Please pass the word to a neighbor or friend or stranger.

 

[dex]

Even if prices are coming down they are very high. I'm a single person and shop at Walmart for my food needs. - The local Kroger and Publix have much higher prices. I don't buy a lot of prepared foods - frozen pizza usually, nor do I eat a lot - one or two large meals a day; and very little meat - frozen chicken breasts - no beef or pork. I'm not looking to save money; this is what I like.

I can not imagine what it cost to feed a family of 4 today.

 

[TromboneAl]

There was a news story about declining food prices recently, however, this article cites a food price inflation rate of 6.6%.

Big Jump in Food Prices the Latest Suggestion That Inflation is Much Higher Than the Government Says

 

[ziggy29]

There was a news story about declining food prices recently, however, this article cites a food price inflation rate of 6.6%.

Big Jump in Food Prices the Latest Suggestion That Inflation is Much Higher Than the Government Says

Yeah, as I've said -- other than oil prices recently, I think the "deflation" talk is BS. Almost everything I'm seeing is still going up.

 

[NW-Bound]

I don't think food prices are that bad. A nice thing about living in a metropolitan area is that we have all the following supermarkets within 5 miles: Costco, Safeway, Fry's, Bashas, Alberson, Walmart, and several other smaller chains. By watching what's on sale, our grocery bill is the last thing we have to worry about. In fact, food is the least expensive indulgence for most Americans. Look at our obesity rate. Because I want to keep my waist at 1/2 of my height, and am too lazy to exercise much, I cannot eat as much as I like.

 

[Tadpole]

All I know is that pretty soon a container of ice cream is going to fill one cone.

 

[free4now]

I've noticed that at Trader Joes and Safeway, organic produce has dropped significantly, to the point where it's not much more than regular produce. I attribute this to the energy costs; organic requires more energy to produce.

Also, bagged/boxed lettuce is now getting cost-competitive with heads of lettuce.

 

[MikeD]

All I know is that pretty soon a container of ice cream is going to fill one cone.

Haagen-Dazs recently sent out an email about two new flavors (one is peanut butter related - I wonder if we'll ever see that one) that also told of the new "pints" being 14 ounces.

Mike D.

 

[MichaelB]

I've noticed that at Trader Joes and Safeway, organic produce has dropped significantly, to the point where it's not much more than regular produce. I attribute this to the energy costs; organic requires more energy to produce.

It could also be more competition, especially now that Wal Mart (Spend Less, Live Better) is targeting the organic foods market.

 

[bbbamI]

I haven't seen prices go down in my flat part of TX. However, I use my Brookshire's card, go over their sale ad, clip my coupons and save quite a bit. I went shopping yesterday and when my bill was totaled, I had saved $56. The lady standing in line next to me gasped....

 

[TromboneAl]

All I know is that pretty soon a container of ice cream is going to fill one cone.

 

[ziggy29]

Blue ice cream is just wrong.

 

[W2R]

Blue ice cream is just wrong.

Maybe one of the eight containers of ice cream that were required to build that cone, was a container of blueberry ice cream.

I kind of wonder about the dark green scoop. Spinach ice cream?

 

[Koolau]

\
I kind of wonder about the dark green scoop. Spinach ice cream?

No.

It's dill pickle!

Used to love that flavor when I was in college all those years ago. And no, I wasn't pregnant at the time (or since) - don't have the right plumbing for it.

 

[W2R]

No.

It's dill pickle!

Used to love that flavor when I was in college all those years ago. And no, I wasn't pregnant at the time (or since) - don't have the right plumbing for it.

Wow - - that sounds really gross, but I'll try to take your word on the fact that it is edible.

I think I'd rather have a scoop of spinach ice cream, thankyouverymuch...

 

[ziggy29]

Wow - - that sounds really gross, but I'll try to take your word on the fact that it is edible.

I think I'd rather have a scoop of spinach ice cream, thankyouverymuch...

When we lived in California, we used to go to the Gilroy Garlic Festival from time to time, and one of the "star attractions" was the garlic ice cream.

To me it tasted like vanilla ice cream that stayed in the freezer too long and absorbed the taste of all the other stuff in there with it.

 

[John Galt III]

Fruit prices are back down here, to the prices of a year ago, before the Goldman - Sachs pump and dump of oil futures.

I get my fruit and vegs from a farmer's market, thank God, which is way cheaper than the "establishment" retail grocery places.

My barometer of food prices is canned tuna. It unfortunately has gone up. And the ubiquitous an iniquitous down-sizing of the package is happening. 6 ounces is now down to 5 ounces. And the price per ounce is....of course... UP.

A tiny 5 ounce can is now 85 cents, of the generic store brand. A couple years ago the big 6 oz store brand tuna was only 59 cents.

Meat prices have come down a bit. About 15 percent.

Pretzels have skyrocketed. A 3 pound bag of pretzels was $1.29 3 years ago, now it is $2.89.


Beer prices are up about 10 percent in the last year alone. But I allow myself to buy high-priced beer ( $27 for a 24 bottle case of Sam Adams) because I fear that whatever I don't spend NOW will be taken from me soon by inflation or by taxes.

 

[Rambler]

I kind of wonder about the dark green scoop. Spinach ice cream?

Looks like green tea ice cream, popular in Japan and asia. By the way, it tastes like it might actually be spinach ice cream! Blech!!!

R