US Food Costs Increase At Twice The Rate Of Gas Prices

[Duppers]

StarTribune.com | Kara McGuire | June 4, 2007

In the past year, food prices have increased 3.7 percent and are on track to jump by as much as 7 percent by year's end. The current increase is more than double the 1.8 percent jump seen the year before, according to the consumer price index.

Meanwhile, gas prices rose 2.9 percent. Only the cost of health care rose more, and then just slightly.

more: http://www.startribune.com/745/story/1220329.html

[ixion]

1. everything goes up, while wages and employment flatline...

well, that's just ducky. :grr:

[JitterbugPerfume]

2. I was surprised to see

my .35 can of tomatoes with chilies now costs .75 . I planted tomatoes and hot peppers in the back yard and bought some canning jars!


the price of groceries can put a big hurt on those of us who are on a fixed income.

[snappyturtle]

7. We just planted tomatoes and zuccini and some other stuff....

I look at it this way....we're saving money and we know how our graden grows....none of the nasty chemicals...I really think we're all in for some big changes and we might as well get started a little at a time so the changes aren't such a shock. Your tomatoes and peppers will be the best!!

[Duppers]

11. good advice, snappy

Tomatoes and peppers grow well in containers too.

[trashcanistanista]

14. Me too. I noticed the increase

in my grocery bill in late winter especially fresh vegies, not so much now as I grow my own. Safer too. Right now I'm reading up
about how to extend your growing season so I can have fresh food into fall and early winter. ;)

[JitterbugPerfume]

15. also~~~

I picked asparagus , blueberries , strawberries, cherries,and corn last year for the freezer . I intend to go back to the "old" ways my mom and granny taught me many years ago.


Next year I am going to extend my garden

It is good exercise for seniors, (i'm 66) and the food tastes better. The best part is , you can compost garden waste and it reduce your carbon footprint , a win--win situation

[snappyturtle]

20. Great! nt

[Lorien]

26. Gotta have the land for a garden though

I wonder what percentage of Americans do?

[bedpanartist]

29. take over an abandoned house's lawn, er, crack house

I'm going down the street this weekend and mow the three foot tall grass on this old abandoned crack house, dig up the front lawn, and plant my extra yellow squash, cubumber, that kind of stuff that takes over the yard. I'll take a bunch and let whoever wants take whatever they want too.

There's over 10,000 abandoned properties here in Dayton, and pretty much anyone who wants to put up a pumpkin patch can.

[Lorien]

30. In my neighborhood the saddest homes sell for $250,000

so there are no abandoned properties. There are about a mile away in the Paramore district. If I didn't mind the gang warfare I might give it a try (the violent crime rate here in Orlando is starting to make national headlines). :-(

[bedpanartist]

31. the only thing to fear, is fear itself

I live in the heart of the city they call "little Detroit" and travel some of the roughest neighborhoods in the United States.

99.99 percent of the time, trouble only comes to those looking for it. Thus, the drug war game.

We got this house (the big yellow one on the corner) for 44k. My living expenses are around $500 a month.



It's a turn of the 20th century Victorian with all of the original woodwork (we scraped it back to the original that is), three floors, a yard, plenty of garden space, a balcony, and room to have parties like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXE4L9fsBR0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3SbBGskW1E

[Lorien]

35. Hey, I grew up in Ohio

I also lived in a ghetto for two years, and my living expense then were $80 a month because I rented an unfinished basement. I'm not afraid, but I sure as hell am not stupid, either. I canvassed the very worst areas of town during the past two elections and met nothing but good people. But the crime here has gotten so bad that even the people living in those areas begged the Guardian Angles to come to help out the local police force-the shooting happen daily. I don't own a gun and I don't hesitate to take a walk around the lake at 2am, so I'm not one of these bed wetting thumb suckers who thinks that the world is out to get them. I'd just rather not be hassled for playing land grabber on a garden plot behind a crack house.

But good for you finding an obviously well kept home for 44k. In this town that would buy you a one bedroom shack next to the crack house.

[MadHound]

36. Actually you can do a pretty decent garden out of pots

I've grown tomatoes, peppers, carrots, even corn once from pots. You just have to know what the root structure of what you wish to grow is, and find a pot to match it.

[Double T]

3. Well, I'm glad to see that double digit inflation is under control...........

and there is absolutely nothing to worry about! Where's my 'soft landing' parachute?

[gollygee]

4. I will forward this to my husband

"You sure are spending more on groceries than you used to. What's up with that? Have prices gone up that much?"

It's not just me! It's crazy!

[Duppers]

6. ha! I did the same thing

And they're going higher.

But hey, "we're safer." :sarcasm:

[Sanctified]

5. And it's only going to go higher since

many farmers are opting to grow Yellow Gold aka corn for ethanol production instead of their normal food crops.

[snappyturtle]

8. I think prices are up due to transportation costs. imho nt

[Purveyor]

12. Farming costs have also increased. Fertilizer that I paid $10 for a 50# bag last year is $16 this.

And on top of that, the fuel for machinery/equipment necessary for farming.

I could find quality motor oil last year for $1.00/quart on sale, this year the best price I've found is $2.08...

But by god, the stock market keeps registering 'record closes' so just put on your 'smiley face' and carry on. :sarcasm:

btw imo, when this economy cracks...it is going to be huge.

[Duppers]

13. "when this economy cracks...it is going to be huge"

Indeed it will be.

[snappyturtle]

21. I think it will be not a crack but a crevasse! I know farming costs

have risen....my 90 year old mother still has the family farm....300 acres NW Indiana. She keeps me informed. We're all being squeezed...in all sorts of ways...no discrimination in that! Yep, record profits but nothing for the people who make it possible because they work harder and longer.

[tridim]

16. Well I paid a dime for corn last year, lets see what it costs this year.

I bet it doubles.

[gollygee]

24. It was 3 for $1 when I picked some up yesterday

it was 10 or 12 for a dollar last year.

It's early for corn though so prices might go down when it comes in locally.

[jenmarie]

9. It's actually been pretty shocking

dad and I shop about once a week -- typically buying pretty much the same stuff each week with more or less items as necessary. Since last summer, our weekly amount has gone from consistently being around $70 - $80/week, to now being $80. - $100./week. Just in one year. He's been retired for almost 20 years, and his increase in income has obviously not kept up with food and gas increases.

Dad's pretty old, but he has a memory for numbers like crazy, so he remembers what he was paying for things 5 or 10 years ago and it's disgusting how much things have gone up. I have to convince him that we have to buy fruit even if it's expensive because when he looks at the prices he just says, no, I won't pay that much for apples -- or whatever it is. Seriously, if I wasn't here he would not be eating any fruit at all. Unfortunately, we live in an area where no fruit or veges are grown, so there's no farmer's markets and everything is shipped in. Still, I doubt prices are much better anywhere else.

[Duppers]

10. and this is going to hit the poor

harder than the middle class, just as the cost of petroleum does.

I'm sure the farmers aren't making out like bandits either. Cost of fuel, drought, and inflation are factors.

My tomato plants are looking better every day.

[tridim]

17. Gas has tripled in the last 6 years

Where are they getting the 3% number? Shouldn't it be 300%?

[Duppers]

19. excellent point....but

The article is quoting this last one year's increases.

Gas prices are still shocking more of us, I think; but I've noticed my food bill increasing by what I thought around the same percentage.

[tandot]

18. Grocery shopping is maddening.

$4 for a gallon of milk, $6 for a gallon of OJ, and don't get me started on fresh fruits and veggies.

We are restricting our shopping to necessities only.

[Lorien]

25. Hard to find much for under $3 in my local grocery store

even canned fruit is $3.29, and a small package of slivered almonds was $3.99, OJ is the same here as where you are (I'm in Florida), and hormone free milk is over $3 for a half gallon! I know that I live in a tourist town so prices are a bit higher, but it's just getting insane!

[tandot]

33. We were trying to buy more organic things, but have given up on that idea

right now. Organic milk here is around $5.

I can't imagine how low-income families with kids are able to feed them.

[Lorien]

34. I was thinking the exact same thing yesterday at the grocery

most of the stuff that was affordable for anyone who is low income had little nutritional value, and a lot of it was heavily processed and filled with crap like high fructose corn syrup. Seems like a system set up to screw the poor; give them only the unhealthiest stuff to eat, then hammer them with impossible health care costs.

[Esra Star]

22. Sounds like it's time to start up a friendly neighbourhood co-op.

Or find the one that already exists.
Consider using a LETS system for trading.

http://www.gmlets.u-net.com/

[tabasco]

23. Thanks, republican voters!

All that peace and prosperity under Clinton was just tooo fucking boring, eh?

You voted for a man who was clearly unqualified. You vote for a party who tells you "a chicken in every pot" as they pick your fucking pocket.

Idiots.

[Supersedeas]

27. but it is high times on Wall Street

[mainegreen]

28. ? My grocery bill hasn't changed in four years.

What's rising?

[Rex]

32. Thanks George.

We will come sliding into 2009 poor and starving. The M$M will try there best to spin it while we all can't afford gas or bread.

Fuck them all.