Cheese?!? $9.19 for Shur-Fine cheese?!?

[blonndee]

I went to buy a few groceries today, since it's payday, and decided after much internal debate that I WOULD buy the pre-shredded cheese (which wasn't priced), since I often make nachos for dinner and although it's always a little more expensive than the block, it's worth it considering the effort it takes to shred the cheese, clean up the inevitable mess, and wash the shredder. So I went ahead and put the bag of shredded cheese in my basket.

I got to the register and noticed that the cheese had apparently rang up for $9.19. I immediately asked the cashier, "Was that the CHEESE that rang up for $9.19?," and I was laughing, as I was sure that we both knew that couldn't possibly be right. So she and the manager (who was bagging) looked at the screen and the manager said, "Yup, that's the cheese." And they went on bagging. So I said, "Wait! It's REALLY $9.19?? That can't be right, are you kidding?" And the manager shook his head and said, "Yes, can you believe it? By January no one will be able to buy any kind of cheese." (I don't know what he meant by that. Next Friday if I'm back there I'll ask him.)

So I told them I didn't want the cheese after all, and that I was sorry to be any trouble for them having to restock it. This was hours ago and I'm still in shock. This was Shur-fine brand, the regular-sized bag of shredded cheese. I expected to pay about $3.50.

What. The. Hell.!?! I have been painfully aware of grocery prices skyrocketing, but, again, WTH???

[LostinVA]

1. I somehow can't believe it really cost $9.19 for regular shredded cheese

I can get GOOD cheese on sale for $5-6 per pound here. I'm talking fresh smoked mozzarella, Irish porter cheese, Double Glouschester.

[havocmom]

16. $9.99 is what I paid for a brick of cheese last week

Cottage cheese has been over $4 a pound (used to be a quart, but they found a pound was less so that's how they have sold it in recent years)

The food that used to go for dairy cows in going into gas tanks now. And diesel is getting outrageous. Diesel is what plants, harvests, get grain and other foods to market. It's what move hay to cows too.

[LostinVA]

59. I drive a diesel car, so I'm well aware of how much it costs, and that trucks also run on diesel

Name-brand shredded cheese (like Sargento or Kraft) is usually 2 for $5 or $6 here. I can't think of anywhere it could possibly be $9.19 for a regular size bag. If so, report that store to the consumer board.

[havocmom]

63. Rural store. Only groceries within nearly 100 miles

Not anything to do about it. Food takes fuel to make and move. Been hollering for years that the same corporate powers that have you by the fuel tank also have you by the belly.

Corporate control of huge aquifers? Check.

Corporate control of seeds via patents and kill genes that prevent farmers from saving seed? Check

Stranglehold on all means of transport? Damn near.

They have us by the bellies now.

[flvegan]

2. I'm sorry for your experience, but...

cheese is honestly one of the worst things you can put in your body, as is any dairy product.

I know, this isn't what you wanted to read. Take it as a good warning.

Flamesuit on. Have at it.

[ingac70]

6. I am a dairy junkie....

and lactose intolerant! I know it is bad, but I can't help myself. Love the stuff.

[LostinVA]

11. But it's sooo good

Anyway, even Haruka won't eat soy cheese and she'll eat soy anything.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[blonndee]

24. Oh, I know, I know.

Cheese is the ONE thing I could not completely live without. Or I guess I should say, won't live without. I think I could quit cigarettes more easily. Well, maybe.

I'm just shocked at the price. I'm definitely going to investigate and see if this was just a fluke or if it's this dramatic and if it's widespread like this.

[pansypoo53219]

28. really?

awesome. cause i hate cheese. i feel better now.

[rucky]

50. You'll have to pry my cheese from my cold, dead digestive tract.

Elsie the Cow is my president.

[AlCzervik]

3. never heard of the brand and how big was the bag?

[AllyCat]

18. Regional store brand. Not name brand at all. n/t

[blonndee]

21. It's a kind of local generic brand, and I don't know the ozs but it was the

medium-to-large-size, not small like the little bitty Kraft ones but not gigantic either.

[AlCzervik]

25. i bet it was an error when it was put in the store system, i sometimes buy a big bag of mozzarella

when i make lasagna and i dont feel like grating 2 pounds of cheese and i think the most i've ever paid for the big bag was about $6.00.

[Libby2]

43. I think you're right.

[tridim]

4. That's unreal.. You weren't at the Quickie Mart were you?

Cheese is still fairly cheap at CostCo, but I haven't bought any for two weeks. I think a 2 pound block of cheddar is about $5.00.

[blonndee]

22. No way, this was at the local grocery store.

Which is higher than Wal-Mart, obviously, but not THAT much higher, I didn't think. At least not for everything else.

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

49. Damn, we pay $5 LB. for extra-sharp cheddar.

[Whoa_Nelly]

5. I live where there are dairy farms and cheese factories all around

(in fact, Leprino, the world's largest mozzarella cheese manufacturer is about 8 miles from me)
and, both cheese and milk are rising in prices here weekly.

It's insane! Even with transportation costs, many of the daity roducts are from here, and don't have near the transport costs (initial to and final from) as compared to other places.

[senseandsensibility]

7. How much did it weigh?

I just saw a smallish package of colby/monterey jack cheese at Trader Joe's for $3.69. It probably weighed about three quarters of a pound, and was pre -sliced.

[SacredCow]

8. Wow....

I'm going shopping tomorrow- I'll have to see what the prices are like here. I don't usually eat a lot of cheese (other than feta at the Lebanese restaurant I go to), so I haven't noticed the prices.

[zabet]

9. ....

It ain't easy,
being cheesy.

[TwilightZone]

10. Someone probably entered it into the computer incorrectly.

It could have been $1.99 with two digits transposed.

[eppur_se_muova]

29. Yeah, I've been the benificiary of that ...

$29.99 item keyed in as $2.99 ... the scanner said $2.99, so that's what they charged, even though $29.99 was printed in big bold letters on the box.

[Habibi]

12. I can get great XX cheddar from my local cheesemonger

for $5.49/lb. For now. God help me if cheese prices go through the roof--it's a staple of my diet.

Hummus is still a good deal, and a good substitute. Piquant, without all the fat and bovine snot.

[Occam Bandage]

14. Sounds like someone mis-keyed the price,

and the manager didn't want to have to deal with it.

[TreasonousBastard]

15. Like someone said, musta been a mistake...

in coding the register.

Run-of-the-mill domestic cheese around here tops out at 4-5 bucks a pound, and is often on sale for less than that. Those half pound bags of shredded cheese are a little more, but seem to always be on sale. Good news when you grab a buy one get one sale and have a coupon, too.

So, what did the other cheeses cost? (Didn't check, eh?)

[blonndee]

23. Well, it could be, but I don't think so. I deal with this manager fairly regularly

and live in a small town, plus he went out of his way to get me something I had forgotten. But I will re-check the prices next time, to be sure.

[theHandpuppet]

17. I guess I have a different perspective

I think if folks spent just one week working on a dairy farm they'd gain a new perspective and end up wondering how in the hell they manage to pay such cheap prices for milk and cheese -- especially if it's real cheese, not just processed cheese food.

[AllyCat]

19. I see your point, but most of this stuff (especially Shur-fine) is mass-produced

on factory farms. It's not like a family farm where everyone chips in and they work hard sun-up to sun-down.

We buy organic dairy and have not noticed a price change...yet.

[theHandpuppet]

27. Yep, that's why I don't buy processed cheese food

My feeling is, why not pay the same price and get cheese and milk from family farmers? I buy less cheese but when I do buy it's a real treat with real flavor.

I have a cousin who has operated a small dairy farm that's been in his family for well over 100 years. You honestly couldn't pay me to do the kind of backbreaking, sunup to sundown darn hard work he does, day in and day out. Funny, most folks in this country don't balk at guys who get paid multi-millions to hit a ball or a million an episode to make a TV show, but folks who work their butts off to put food on our tables shouldn't expect a living wage?

Even with those huge factory-food operations how many of us talk about how those workers are treated even as we decry how laborers are treated in China? How many folks have ever been to a meatpacking plant or harvested a field by hand, bent over in the hot sun? And who is doing this work? Illegals, because Americans want cheap food. They don't mind paying outrageous prices for toys and gadgets but they want free milk and bread. And the government knows as long as they can offer the masses the cheap butter they expect then they won't ask questions and won't take a look around and start seeing how fucked up things really are.

Sorry... off the soapbox now. This topic is just a bit of a pet peeve of mine.

[blonndee]

35. I understand, but come to SE New Mexico and try to find, let alone afford, "organic,"

or "family-farmed" food. Just try it. I WOULD make do if it WERE available, even on my shamefully small teacher's salary. And I do try, and I do buy those organic and local food products I can. But it's appallingly limited.

[Selatius]

20. Welcome to inflation, baby.

When the government calculates inflation, it excludes food and energy from its equation. As a result, inflation always appears tamer on paper and in the news media than what people actually see on the street.

[AndyTiedye]

26. Can't be Right

That's probably half a pound of cheese or so.

Even fancy imported cheese usually doesn't cost almost $20/pound.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

30. Safeway wanted $1.69 for 6 eggs today...

a dozen were $2.99.

I put them back too.

[knitter4democracy]

56. I only get ours either from a farm or from a farm-market-like local store.

$2/dozen for free-range from the farm and $0.99/doz local farm-raised at Horrocks. I can't believe what the other stores are charging for eggs these days.

[Liberal In Texas]

31. At $9.19 it had better be Sure and it had better be Fine.

BTW...did you know that the cost of living went up over 10%? The current dictator and his henchmen have decided that that number DOES NOT include the price of oil or food. So, the real inflation rate might be closer to 20 or 25%. No one really knows.

Welcome to Bush-world.

[flycessnas]

36. No...

...welcome to Greenspan's world. What you're seeing is the result of Happy Alan's lowering of the Federal funds rate to zero after 9/11, which was essentially opening the spigot for our banks and giving birth to the kind of crass lending that's got us in the dock today.

[Liberal In Texas]

40. flycessnas, welcome to our little bit of sometimes contentious dialogue.

I would love to debate this sometime, probably not tonight. (Too much wine.)

I hope to see you around more!

[emilyg]

32. You could have gotten some very nice Boar's Head cheese for less.

[SoCalDem]

33. For tacos??

[emilyg]

38. The heck with the Tacos - for nibbling.

[MilesColtrane]

34. Ever since the Leno show went on hiatus...

...cheese is at a premium.

[WinkyDink]

37. Per pound, or what?

[grasswire]

39. guess I'd better buy cheese tomorrow on sale

Two pound brick of cheddar is $3.99 at my local Kroger's. It's not my favorite brand, but when you're cooking for two teenage athletes, ya gotta fill 'em up somehow.

[Bozita]

45. Around here, Kroger only sells its branded cheese in 8, 16, and 24oz. bricks.

I just checked my local Kroger ad and they're selling the 24oz. bricks for $5.00.

That sale price ends tomorrow night.

[grasswire]

57. interesting

we have 32 oz. bricks of medium cheddar, mild cheddar, monterey jack, pepperjack, colby, and a couple of other "flavors" in the Kroger package. Only the medium cheddar was at $3.99, though.

[Bozita]

58. Buy a bunch. I don't think you'll be seeing $2.00/lb cheese any time soon.

Wishing my store had your store's cheese sale.

[prole_for_peace]

41. just purchased a 4 cup bag of shredded cheese for $3.50

kroger brand. i think yours was a price error and manager didn't want to deal with it.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

42. There's some pricey cheese

in the specialty aisle. We get one of those 10 oz rectangles of Cracker Barrel in the shiny pkg for about $4.00. We don't use a lot, mostly for cheese n cracker snacks. I like to sometimes take it to work with Triscuits rather thank getting a plastic snack out of the machine.

[Bozita]

44. In early summer, Kroger had sales on 8oz bricks of cheese for a buck

That's $2.00/lb

In recent months, Kroger's lowest price on the same cheese has been $1.67 or 3 for $5.00.

The math on this doesn't require a calculator.

That's a price increase of 67%.

[Snarkturian Clone]

46. You're shopping at the wrong store.

Go to Sav-A-Lot if you can find one near you. Once you've had an 88 cent Apple Juice and 1.60 Peanut Butter, you'll never go back to your old store again. Some Duers who are all into nutritional pseudo-science might have a problem with it- but as I always say- fuck 'em!

http://www.save-a-lot.com/

[atommom]

47. That's outrageous. All groceries have been going up here, too,

but I can still buy shredded cheese for about 2 bucks.

[MissB]

48. I bought a 2 lb block of medium cheddar at a Kroger's chain for $2.99.

Granted, it was a coupon sale, but still. I regularly get it for $4.99 at Winco.

$9+ is just ridiculous. A good chunk of that price is the convenience of having it preshredded. Block cheese will always be cheaper.

[lumpy]

64. I bought a 5 pound loaf of Tillamouk medium cheese at Cosco

for $12.60 a week ago. I live in Seattle suburbia area. I never buy shredded cheese, cheaper to do the shredding myself and no big deal; shredded doesn't keep as well either. We four adults use quite a bit of cheese and cheese freezes well if need be.

[kimmylavin]

51. Milk

Bought milk last night - up to almost $6.00 a gallon.
Couldn't believe my eyes...

[Nikia]

52. I haven't bought shreded cheese for over a month

Some brands are cheaper than others and I always check prices. Where I live in Wisconsin, there are several cheese plants within an hour where I live and even more within 2 hours. Wisconsin brands like Sargento and Crystal Farms are usually reasonably priced around here.

[otherlander]

53. When I saw the flame by this thread title

I was hoping that I would open it up and find a flame war, just so that I could go into the Lounge and post a thread titled, "CHEESE FIGHT!!!1"

Instead, it's just a lot of fairly civil replies, except for one deleted subthread.

You Have All Disappointed Me Greatly.

[LostinVA]

60. The deleted sub-thread just off-color joking around

It was flvegan and I. We're buddies.

[otherlander]

67. So there was no "CHEESE FIGHT!!!1" .

Ever.





Dammit.

[LostinVA]

69. I feel really bad having to tell you there was no flaming cheese

[AllieB]

54. That's more expensive than Whole Foods or Trader Joe's

I have noticed that cheeses have gone up in price. The 1-lb bag of mozzarella at TJ's has increased from $3.49 to $4.69 in a year. Some of their other cheeses have gone up 50 cents a pound or so. I think it's their way of passing higher fuel prices on to the consumer.

[knitter4democracy]

55. Best thing I ever learned from Tightwad Gazette: Keep a price book.

I did it for a couple of weeks, tracking prices in our local area for our usual groceries. I was shocked at the differences. The store where we'd been shopping consistently because everything was all in one location consistently cost more--to the tune of almost $40 a big grocery trip, every trip. That's more than the gas costs to drive around town (especially if I sort the trips by location and do them in batches).

Check around and see where you can consistently get the cheapest prices. I'd bet that cheese wasn't the only over-priced item in your basket.

[Norrin Radd]

61. I prefer to use ye olde elbow grease, but...

http://shop.hamiltonbeach.com/cgi-bin/main/co_disp/disp...

[lumpy]

62. Well thanks guys. All this talk about cheese I just had to go

out to the fridge and grab a hunk. No kidding.

[fishwax]

65. that's a pretty outrageous price

Your avatar is cool, though

[laylah]

66. I went to buy a small

store brand sharp cheddar block last Friday only to see it was $5.39! I couldn't believe it! or afford it so passed it up. This is absolutely ridiculous! WTF is going on?

[TheManInTheMac]

68. I want the kids in bed by nine,

the lawn watered and the gate locked. And leave a note to the milkman: "No more cheese!"

[Beausoir]

70. ROFL!

[haele]

71. Is that the two cup bag or an eight cup bag?

Two cup bags have been going for up around $3.50 in San Diego, the generic or store brands for around $2.50; eight cup bags for between 6 and 8 dollars. I can almost see a large 8 cup bag for that price, but your post indicates you had gotten a regular bag, which is normally a third of the price.
Dairy prices are going up - and will only go higher with the cost of gas, utilities, and grain.

Do you have any Costco, Trader Joes, or something similar to "Food for Less" or "Smart n Final"(wholesale type subsidiary versions of major grocery chains)? That can help for the short term, if you can't handle the plastic Velveeta style "Cheese food" crap that can be found in the dollar stores. (Cheese "food" is not cheese!) But I fear that us cheese-aholics are going to be screwed pretty durn soon, even if the average dairy farmer can get subsidies to keep costs low.

Haele