Grocery Store Blues

[know_your_enemy]

I got the munchies a second ago and went to the grocery store...

1 bottle of Mayo-2.86
1 Liter of OJ- 3.29
1 Loaf of Bread- 3.50
1 Pack of Sandwich meat 3.50
1 pack of Chips 3.50

2.5 VA Rip My Ass Apart Sales Tax- .40

18.10 for a couple of sandwiches.

Time to plant a garden.

[lapfog_1]

1. A great deal of our food is totally dependent on the price of oil

from last year.

If oil remains where it is through this growing season, expect food prices to start dropping in the summer. Fresh veggies will be the first to show a price drop.

And, depending on how much lunchmeat was in the package you bought, surely you can get more than 2 sandwiches from it... probably more like 6 to 8. So more like $2.50 to $3.00 per sandwich. Of course, you need to price in the cost of other ingredients like lettuce, tomato, pickles, etc.

And OJ has always been expensive. That's not a recent thing.

But yeah, as someone who is watching every penny spent, going to the grocery store with less than $20 to spend doesn't get you that much, even if you spend it all in the fresh veggies area.

[know_your_enemy]

3. Hey Lapfrog :)

Nice to meet ya.

I think, now this is my opinion, that food prices will not go down, but go up.

The reason for this is a deepening recession and people will then not be able to afford food.

So either our salaries will fall and the prices will remain the same or prices will rise while our salary stays the same.

I'm looking @ the depression era food shortages and basically, this is how it all got started.

How can people working 9-5 possibly feed a family of four with petty things like sandwich meat and bread costing you well over five dollars?

Sorry but no sympathy here, people gotta eat!

[lapfog_1]

7. Relative pricing is a different matter...

relative to wages earned or something.

You may well be right, we are entering into a deflationary (or, at best, stagflation) period. Falling wages will certainly mean that a larger portion of the budget will go toward food purchases.

But the cost of food is directly related to the cost of oil. Oil is the major industrial input into our food production. Our tractors that till the earth and sow the seed are all oil driven, the fertilizer used on the crops is oil derived, the mechanized (mostly) picking and shucking our crops is oil driven and the delivery to market is done by train or truck (mostly trucks for produce, train for grains). All of it is oil. We have achieved a modern "miracle" of food production (and, to a lesser extent, distribution) based on the abundance of oil... but not just oil, but CHEAP oil. The relatively steep increase in food prices at the local supermarket today are from the high oil prices in the last growing season. Even box cereal and a loaf of bread are made from last summers crop of wheat. So I maintain that relative to current prices, IF oil remains under $50 or $60 a barrel for the next 6 to 9 months, we should see a drop of the price of most foods, especially grain derived foods like various meats (almost all cattle are "finished out" in feed lots now, not grass fed) and cereals and bread.

Our ability to BUY that food, even with lower prices, is still very much a question. There is no doubt that we are entering a period, perhaps a long period, of declining standard of living.

Anyway, welcome to DU.

[Subdivisions]

24. You are right about our dependence on CHEAP oil relative

to food prices.

Oh, by the way, CHEAP oil was at or below $10 per barrel. Today, it's in excess of FOUR TIMES that amount.

[Hannah Bell]

53. not if you figure in inflation.

[Sherman A1]

18. you are correct, prices are going only one way and that is UP

It's a shame, but they are going up and up faster and faster. I see it every week when I get to change the tags at the store where I work. What was once maybe a couple of sheets of 30 or so, is now 15 sheets of 50 price advances each week just in the grocery department.

[roguevalley]

56. figure out what you eat, figure out its component parts and buy them

in bulk. By the time you finish all that stuff, you will have an idea if you still like that food or ideas about others. always deconstruct food and buy its bits in bulk. also, get really damned good containers.

[bkkyosemite]

2. I agree with you and the packaging is smaller with less in it and the same price as before

A gallon of ice cream is now a 1.5 quarts and cost as much as the 1/2 gal used to cost........I hadn't bought cheezits in a long time and thought I'd buy a box omg...maybe 2/3 to 1/3 the size of the original and the same price. Potato chips Lays Classic $3.95 and was a 1/4 full when opened.

A bottle of salad dressing is now a much smaller bottle and you guessed it same price as the used to be in the larger size.

They are putting less food in the packaging, we are paying no less and people are gonna really be having a rough time keeping food in the house because of it.

It's a crime as far as I am concerned. Cheats, greedy cheats. They think we are stupid out here. Just buy meat (if you eat it), and produce and leave the processed food alone as much as possible so those creeps will get the message.

[know_your_enemy]

4. Meats are just as bad here....

8 dollars for 3 chicken breasts? Come on now!

7.75 for a pound of ground chuck?

I get your point (I have a thing for salami) but everything is reaching a threshold.

Do you want power, cable or food?

[DainBramaged]

5. KFC, Bucket of 8 pieces, two sides of fries, lg. mashed potatoes w/ gravy, lg. corn & biscuits

And their large size is like 12 oz.

$28.00

Time is money. You can always make more money but you can't make more time. It took the same amount of time to get dinner from KFC as to go to the market and buy all of the fixins uncooked, and then take an hour+ to cook everything.

[silverojo]

6. Where the heck are you shopping?

A loaf of wheat sandwich bread is only $1.35, and a can of Pringles is about $1.50. Mayo is terrible for you, anyway, so you could save some dough by not getting that stuff. :)

And most of us are begging for a low tax rate like yours. Try paying 7% tax, like we do here in the Heartland. :(

Definitely have to do comparison shopping in this day and age, or else you'll be screwn....

[lady raven]

8. 7% would be nice right now.

We pay 9% sales tax here.

[hfojvt]

61. even on food?

I shouldn't ask, because it's Oklahoma, but conservative Nebraska has no sales tax on food.

[kath]

71. IN OK, sales tax is on EVERYTHING, varies from around 7.5 - 9%, depending on what town.

In OKC area, varies from 7.75- 8.5%, so the OP would have paid between $1.29 and $1.42 in tax here.

Absolutely immoral (& un-Christian) IMHO, to tax people on groceries.

[lady raven]

75. Unfortunately, yes.

But there is talk that that may change in the near future.

At least it's made up for by the fact that our food prices here aren't as horrendous as they are elsewhere. We are lucky in that regard.

[Crabby Appleton]

21. Pringles are $1.00 here, bread about the same

the kind I get is $1.50.

[leftofthedial]

55. bread is $1?

Where the hell is that.

The cheapest bread at my store is $1.50 on sale--that's crappy factory white bread with zero nutritional value.

Actual bread is a minimum of $2.50 on sale, $3.49 not on sale.

[hfojvt]

62. white bread here in Kansas is 94 cents on a 16 ounce loaf

about the same at Wal-mart.

[hfojvt]

63. also I do not know about zero nutrional value

according to the label, in two slices, there are 3 grams of protein and 10% Thiamine, 8% riboflavin, 6% calcium, 8% niacin, 6% iron and 10% folate

[leftofthedial]

69. cool.

the cheap stuff ($1.50) at the Kroger conglomerate store here is the in-house bakery bread. Far lower nutritional value when I checked than any of the other brands, which start at about $2.50.

[TahitiNut]

47. A can of Pringles is $1.39 while a can of Stax is $1.59

I just did the grocery shopping yesterday. :silly:

[hfojvt]

64. I never pay more than $1 for pringles, unless it's a large can

Often I can find them on sale for 89 cents. I remember back in 2000 they went to $1.15 and I quit buying them. Later I noticed they were at $1 again, but it was a 6 ounce can instead of the former 7 ounces. Although, now I wonder if the cans were not half a pound at one time.

[sandnsea]

9. Nobody should pay tax on food

So first things first, everybody needs to get that law repealed where they live.

As for the rest, I feel for you - but please learn what a sale is.

I bought 5 boxes of Life cereal, gallon of milk, oranges, 3 loaves of wheat bread, 97% hamburger, tomatoes for sauce, 4 thingies of pudding snacks, for $32.00.

My husband shops like you which is why I try to keep him out of the store.

[NutmegYankee]

10. Back when I lived in Va, it was 4.5%

At least the Democrats improved it.

[know_your_enemy]

12. These were "sales"

eom

[Gormy Cuss]

48. In most states with sales tax, food for home consumption is exempt.

eom.

[hfojvt]

76. actually I kinda like the way Kansas does it

They have a sales tax on food, but then a rebate for those with lower income. Of course, they need to expand the rebate so it includes childless people and they need to increase the amounts.

[orleans]

11. next time look for the store brand bread. i can get it for $1 at jewel

$1.50 for the long loaf. plan head & buy on sale? (mustard might be cheaper--possibly better for you as well)

[grasswire]

13. a garden? where can I order mayo seeds?

:-)

[know_your_enemy]

16. HAHA

Did you tell that one at your standup gig?

:silly:

[Vinca]

23. Save your olive pits, grow a tree, harvest the olives, squeeze the oil,

then buy a chicken, wait for it to lay an egg . . . oh, never mind. Have a donut instead.:donut:

[robinlynne]

38. You can make it really easily. oil and eggs. that's it. recipe below:

blender or food processor:

put one egg in blender or food processor. blend.
take one cup of oil. Very very slowly dribble it a tiny bit at a time into the blender. I sue a blender and remove the little round insert on top, leaving it closed, but wiht a small opening. blend non-stop as you add a little bit at a time.

let stand in the frig for around an hour or overnight if you can to thicken.
you will have mayo.

Since it won't have all the preservatives, it won't last longer than a few days. If you add some spices, you will have an amazing home made salad dressing.

[Political Tiger]

14. Every time I go to the store

I get the Grocery Store Blues! :scared:

[Systematic Chaos]

15. I'm in the midst of switching to a "99 Cent Store" diet.

That consists largely of packaged dried beans, rice, strange-looking produce, and the occasional frozen treat item. You never know with those. Some days it's packages of egg rolls, other days it's Healthy Choice panini sandwiches, or little frozen pizzas, or popcorn shrimp, or who knows what else.

All-in-all, though, I'd have to say we're eating a lot healthier now than we did before. You'd be amazed how much split pea soup you can make in a crock pot for under $3.

[pipi_k]

28. I used to love those

stores in my area that sold food that was near, or just over, expiration dates.

Some of the packages might have been squashed...stuff inside was still good.

They even sold some non-food items...for those I didn't care if the package had been opened and resealed with tape or something.

But anyway, yeah...the Family Dollar store in my area sells stuff that's just as good, although somewhat cheaper than, what's in the chain stores.

I get coffee...macaroni and cheese, soups, pudding, etc.


No need to pay full (or inflated) prices for stuff if you don't have to.

:)

[AsahinaKimi]

17. I guess I must be lucky to live, where I live...

I have long ago abandoned Safeway supermarket, though its only four blocks away. I go to Chinatown now to buy food and my local Farmers market every Wednesday.
Just some examples:

A pound of Cherry tomatoes for a dollar (note: they always give you a little more then a pound at the same price. The farmers don't mind making it a bargain.)

A 5 pound bag of Japanese rice for $3.50. (**note: same bag of rice at Safeway *$7.50)
Red onions 25 cents a pound.
Corn on the cob (non shucked) four for $1.00
Mushrooms 1lb for $2.00
McCormick brand Garlic powder (88grm)$2.19 (at Safeway, around $5.00)
Summer squash 1 dollar a pound
2.7 oz of white pepper $1.19
17 oz of Hot chili sause $1.99 (at Safeway same stuff $6.25!)
32.fl oz of Rice Vinegar for $1.39
60.86 fl oz of Soy Sauce for $3.40
Peanut Oil 30 fluid ounces for $4.99
Nori, Japanese seaweed paper(for Kappa Maki rolls) $1.34 for ten sheets.
100 Tea bags of FOOJOY classic Oolong tea (200g) $2.35!!
100 Tea bags of FOOJOY Japanese Green tea (200g) $2.39!

Most of the Asian markets here are very inexpensive as well.
I think the best deal are the farmers markets, because you are buying from the farmers direct.

[grasswire]

42. safeway has gotten really high, I think

If you can just get the specials and shop somewhere else for the other stuff, it's worth going there. I think their paper goods are particularly high.

In fact, a good thing to do if a person has several stores nearby is to shop the specials in several stores. That's not a good deal if you have to travel far between, though, or if you use public transportation. At my last apartment, I could walk to five different grocery chains. Safeway, Albertson's, Kroger's, and two local chain markets. I could hop a bus home with my stuff. I did save money by watching the ads and shopping well.

[WePurrsevere]

19. As much as we NYers like to complain about our taxes...

(and rightfully so in many cases) at least this is one area where NY has it right. ATM we don't pay sales tax on food unless it's prepared.

The COL up where we are in northern NY has increased but overall it's still less then other areas even within NYS. Even though food prices having increased exorbitantly recently it looks like we're still paying less then some areas of the country. Decent OJ (I only buy "not from concentrate") now runs between $3 and $4 a gallon. I can get nice lean ground beef and boneless chicken breasts for under $3. a pound and that's not on sale. A loaf of 12 Grain (the good stuff B-)) is under $3. regular price, if we go with cheaper "store brand" whole wheat it's under $1.50 for a decent size loaf. A pack of cheap salami (Bar S brand) ran me $2.50 last week but over the counter deli meats are outrageous and have done wild... for instance a pound of American cheese went from $3.99lb to $6.99lb in one year.

[fudge stripe cookays]

20. Read "Animal Vegetable Mineral" by Barbara Kingsolver...

Fascinating book. It opened my eyes to a lot.

She and her husband and daughters moved to Appalachia where they were both from, bought a farm, and for a year (at least) they did not eat anything that they did not raise themselves, grow themselves, or buy locally.

From this book, I have been buying more from farmers markets, and am saving to get a canning kit to learn to put things away for the winter. Unfortunately, I rent where we are, so I can't start a garden, but I at least grow herbs in the summer.

[Le Taz Hot]

22. Not trying to undermine your point, but . .

if you do your own cooking, you can cut your grocery bill down by a good 60-70% by buying the raw materials and making dishes yourself as opposed to buying the pre-packaged stuff.

For example:
If you have a mixer, you can make your own mayonnaise by combining egg whites, canola oil and a little salt.

Making your own whole wheat bread will cost you less than 50 cents a loaf.

Baking one whole chicken (or roast or ham) will give you dinners and sandwich meat.

These are all ingredients most people already have in their homes so you don't have to rush out to find mango chutney or some other ingredient not normally found in your kitchen.

I know your point was the increase in the price of food, and I completely agree. The home cooking is just one way I've found to counter the food inflation.

[Xithras]

68. And homemade mayo tastes better.

My recipe: 2 egg yolks, 1 cup canola oil, 2tbs lemon juice. Toss it into a food processor for two minutes and you have mayo for a fraction of the cost of the store-bought stuff, and without all the preservatives and artificial enhancements. Sealed well, it will keep for 4-6 days in the refrigerator.

If you like your mayo with less tang, halve the lemon juice. My wife likes to add a dollop of dijon mustard to hers, which is also quite good.

I can't eat factory mayo anymore...it tastes like drek.

[dysfunctional press]

25. the grocery store...or a 7-11 type convienence store?

those prices are ridiculous.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

32. Oh hell, those prices are a bargain in San Jose Calif

A little container of pesto sauce (enough for two plates) $7.00 at mid town Safeway. Pasta to go with it = $6.00. 1 garlic bulb $0.50. 1 lemon $0.79. 1 Avacado =$1.00. 1 Artichoke = $4.00

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

26. Suggestions

Go to a thrift store for your bread. Loaves here are 2 for $5, and that's for the good kind of bread. Do you have a distribution store or salvage grocery store nearby? Mayo was 99 cents there, chips the same, and OJ was $1.79. Our salvage store has a deli with Amish cheese and smoked meats, and they had smoked turkey for $2.69 a pound on Saturday.

[cap]

27. PA has it right: no sales tax on food and clothing

[Ilsa]

77. Any clothing? We have a sales tax holiday on certain clothing

for a weekend in August when people are getting clothes for their kids for school.

[Marrah_G]

29. You have to take the time to really shop now

Store brands cost far less, even in expensive areas and are the same product with different labels usually.

[calico1]

30. Food prices are high but there are certainly

things you can do such as:

clip coupons and use them. Check your flyers and try to combine coupons with sales.

If you have room in the freezer, buy bread when it's on sale. It keeps good in the freezer if you wrap well.

Lunch meats are expensive. So are things like precut chicken, or skinless chicken, anything that makes less work for you will cost more. Buy a whole chicken and use leftover meat for sandwiches. Same goes for roasts, etc. Less salt and cheaper than prepared cold cuts.

Learn to separate wants from needs. Do you really need chips to feed your family? Everyone likes chips at least now and then but they are one of the biggest grocery store ripoffs. If you must buy them then at least buy them on sale or try grocery store brands.

[Bill McBlueState]

31. Is your sales tax really only 2.5%?

I just moved to Ohio from Massachusetts and I feel like I'll need to take out a loan just to pay sales taxes. It's around 7% in this county and it seems like everything gets taxed.

In Masachusetts, it's only 5% and lots of stuff is exempt.

But rich people don't complain much when the sales tax goes up, so there you go.

[Statistical]

34. Sales tax is 5% in VA (2.5% for food) unless they changed it AGAIN (n/t)

[NashVegas]

33. Make Your Own Mayo

It tastes fantastic!

[jus_the_facts]

35. If 2.5 sales tax rips your ass apart....then what would our 9.99% do to you?

http://www.bestplaces.net/city/Monroe-Louisiana.aspx

:hurts:

[anigbrowl]

45. Or CA's 8.75%. Also, in Europe the typical sales tax is close to 20%.

I'm European and think that America could stand to be more like Europe in many ways...but people who wax idealistic about Euro-socialism are often shocked by the price tag.

[proud2BlibKansan]

36. 3.50 for a loaf of bread??

That's nuts. I paid 1.25 just yesterday.

[calico1]

39. What bread do you find for $1.25?

I like Pepperidge Farm or Arnold. That is usually what I like for sliced bread. Also Martins. They are all around $2.69 where I am. The Pepperidge Farm breakfast bread is $4.00.

The other thing I forgot to mention in my other post is see if there is a bakery second day store in the area. I have a Pepperidge Farm outlet near my work so sometimes I get bread there and it's usually half price or even $1 if they need to get rid of it. I freeze it and it lasts for a long time.

Also, in my supermarket they mark down bakery items from the day before that don't sell to half price. This is usually for the stuff in the bakery section like ciabatta.

[Lugnut]

40. I get Pepperidge Farm and Arnold's bread at an outlet too.

It's $1.29 a loaf for either. Thankfully we have two farm stores near here and that helps a lot as well. $5.00 for a 10# bag of red potatoes.

[proud2BlibKansan]

50. Store brand

Bread is bread. I don't buy the fancy bread.

[gollygee]

44. You can find bread for $1.25 a loaf?

What kind of bread? My husband has high cholesterol so I have to get whole grain bread. Maybe that's the difference? I can't find bread for anywhere near that.

[Terran]

52. $3.50 is completely normal unles you're buying crapische bread

I live in a fairly low-cost part of the country (central Missouri), but I routinely pay that much for decent bread (and I'm merely talking Orowheat or Pepperidge Farm here, not artisan stuff). Store brand isn't a lot better at 2.75.

[proud2BlibKansan]

59. I live in Kansas City and pay about a buck and a half a loaf

[Terran]

60. Well, maybe it's higher here for lack of competition, but

the cheapest I see here in a 'normal' market (I won't shop at Wal Mart) is about $1.25, and that's for the absolute crappiest cheapest white bread you can buy that's good for nothing but wiping up BBQ sauce.

[calico1]

73. My feelings exactly.

A good loaf of Pepperidge Farm bread is very different from store brand white bread. To me at least. I never buy white bread unless we are talking about a loaf of Italian or French bread. I pay more for the good stuff. If you read the ingredient label it certainly isn't all the same.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

54. I pay 89 cents.

They must be buying the name brand stuff.

[proud2BlibKansan]

58. Really. Bread is bread.

I don't understand why anyone pays sky high prices for bread.

[Irishonly]

37. We have Farmer's Markets

I have never been successful at getting my garden to produce all year around but people around here can. I use coupons also and have found that Target and Trader Joe's are cheaper than grocery stores. I have also stopped buying boxed stuff like scalloped potatoes. It's better and cheaper to make them from scratch. I also try to buy on sale. One of the stores I trade at had seven bone roasts on sale for $1.50 a pound. I bought two and it will feed my family four times. I always have the roasts split.

[Javaman]

41. Let me know how that balony plant works out...

:rofl:

[LeftyMom]

43. Your grocer sucks. I pay less than that for organic food.

Well, I don't know what the mayo or lunchmeat would be, I'm vegan and don't eat crazy shit like that.

[prolesunited]

46. Suggestion

Quit buying crap food. It will be better for your health and your pocketbook.

Secondly, shop sales. Eat what's on sale and not you necessarily crave. You'll get used to it.

[Marie26]

49. They said food was high-priced

because of high gas prices. Now gas prices have fallen, yet produce prices remain sky-high. What am I missing?

[Spike89]

67. Most of the food was grown/harvested last year

There'll be a winter wheat harvest soon, and that wheat will be harvested using "cheap oil" but it was planted and mostly fertalized with expensive oil. Virtually all the food currently in the stores was produced, warehoused, transported, and priced during high fuel cost months. Cheap fuel during the winter when most crops are not in heavy production simply doesn't help that much. If gas stays low through the next summer, then maybe we'll see some drops.

[Marie26]

70. Ah, thanks. nt

[European Socialist]

51. Too bad food hasn't come down like gas.

[Contrary1]

57. I go to the Wonder Thrift Store here...

Whole wheat runs about $1.30 a loaf. Also, they have plastic bags stuffed with what they call "bird bread" for a buck. Usually the bread/buns are just squashed, not out of date.

I have bought these every now and then, and ended up with 5 or 6 loaves of bread that's not too smashed. I break up another loaf or two for use as bread crumbs in meatloaf, salmon patties, etc.

The birds end up getting their share too. Everybody's happy. ;)

[carlyhippy]

65. I just came back from the store - 111.00 for 5 dinners and snacks for 5 days

never mind about breakfast and lunches, just dinners, feeding 4 people, 20.00 a meal, 5.00 a person, shoot, we could eat out for about that....and I wouldn't have to waste time, electricity and water washing dishes or preparing meals.

[distantearlywarning]

66. Just out of curiosity...

What zones do mayo plants, OJ plants, and sandwich meat plants grow best in?

[rucky]

72. You can get 3 feet of Subway for that.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

74. I'm fed up with what's happening to spinach

I made homemade chicken orzo and spinach soup yesterday and the spinach was the most expensive ingredient! More than the chicken! And now you can ONLY buy the little farty packages of baby lettuce that's prewashed whose size seems to shrink daily. Give me back loose sandy spinach that I can wash myself. And can we ever get "adult" spinach again? Or are we forever doomed to infant spinach?