Are grocery prices rising in your area?

[CoffeeCat]

I went to three different grocery stores this week (Walmart, SuperTarget and Hy-Vee, a local store).

I was astounded to see that prices for food, toiletries and paper goods have really skyrocketed in the last month. I know SuperTarget's prices run a bit higher, and there food (especially fresh produce) prices were significantly higher.

I pay very close attention to prices because I'm a rabid couponer. I notice prices, and they are definitely up in this area (Midwest).

Is anyone else experiencing higher prices at the grocery store?

[sweetladybug]

1. I live near Nashville, TN and I've noticed EVERYTHING is going up in price

n/t

[FreedomAngel82]

10. I think

my mom made a mention earlier. I don't do the shopping in my family so I'm not sure. :shrug: Wouldn't surprise me though.

[lebkuchen]

2. cost of gas going up 21cents on base

Fortunately for those shopping on base, they don't have to pay a sales tax, so that helps keep down costs.

Are there any "mom and pop" stores in your neck of the woods, any non-chain stores/shops/restaurants left? Any family-run, non-chain butcher, baker, or candlestick maker?

[BattyDem]

3. Yes ... our grocery bills are ridiculous!

We're shopping at Costco in order to save money. We really don't have a lot of room to store the stuff - the dining room looks like a warehouse, LOL - but it's cheaper to buy in bulk.

[Carolab]

4. HELL YES.

St. Paul, MN.

Can't get out of the store for less than $15 and that's for little else than a day or two provisions. A can of freaking soup is two bucks.

[leftofthedial]

5. equivalent to the rise in the price of gasoline

[pdurod1]

6. Haven't seen it

Generic clariton is up, and it did it last year. People need it more this time of year. Sorry for the small sampling. Actually gas is coming back down.

[ebayfool]

9. I have - market goods are popping up & gas is still rising, as of today.

California, gas is still running regular 2.59 & premium 2.99 at the cheapest local station. Thank heavens for Costco - my daughter's generic Keflex was $60.00 at the Rite Aid (no bloody insurance!). When she came out to the car & told me that I sent her right back in to get the script back (which they argued w/her about - she GOT it back !:evilgrin:) - Costco had it for $14.00!

The markets are really getting higher here, too. I've been 'putting back & putting by' for a while - but not nearly enough to hold us for very long. Right now, I'm watching the sales like a hawk & combining trips to work w/stocking-up fly-bys while we can. Got the garden going pretty well (while decluttering the house - I'm friggin' TIRED!) to supplement what we can still afford to buy. I'm really concerned @ the next few years, it can't get much tighter - but I'm sure it will, anyway!

[Lorien]

7. OMG yes!

I usually buy organic, which is costly to begin with. An Amy's pesto pizza was $4.29 last month at Publix. I went to Albertson's tonight, and the same pizza was $7.59! Onion and potato perogies: $4.99, Tater Tots (small bag) $2.99 Skillet sensations $7.99, Small box of herbed rice: $2.89. I saw an elderly disabled man wandering through the aisles with a look of complete shock and disbelief. After half an hour, he bought hotdogs, buns, and cat food (he was ahead of me in line). It was hard to find a SINGLE item under $2!

[ebayfool]

11. If I see someone in such obvious distress in the market, I try to grab a

few staples (meat, veggies, whatever they seem to be looking over the most) to drop in their basket on the way out the door or parking lot. I may not have much, but as long as I'm fit to scrabble -I figure I have to share what I can. One of these days that old person eating cat food or wieners for supper might just be me - I think life is a karma call. Even if it's not, I can't go home & eat while seeing that person in need in my mind's eye.

"...elderly disabled man wandering through the aisles with a look of complete shock and disbelief."


on edit: I can spell, REALLY - I can! LOL

[Lorien]

22. Well, I ended up with rice

and not much else myself. Made $18,000 last year. Made over $100,000 during the Clinton years. Medical expenses have wiped out every dime of savings and put me $20,000 in debt. It's great that you can be so altruistic, but don't damn those who can't immediately reach out. The point is that NO ONE who makes less than $20,000 a year-which is 1/3 of America- can eat decent food at these prices.

[ebayfool]

27. I make @ $14,400 year w/my youngest daughter - not damning anybody!

Sorry if it sounded judgmental, I can't do it every time I go to market. Just saying I CAN make a small difference whenever possible, someone always has it worse than me & mine. I do know @ the medical expenses, we haven't had insurance in years (my grandson does get medical, but that's it - no food stamps or cash aids).

"The point is that NO ONE who makes less than $20,000 a year-which is 1/3 of America- can eat decent food at these prices." No argument there, all the more reason for me to share when I can. A lot of these people are living on less than $14,400 - so we (my family) are better off than them. There is no altruism involved here, that makes it sound like charity - it's not. It's putting myself in someone else's shoes & remembering when others have held out the same helping hand to my family when we were up against the wall. Even if it's sharing the little we have, it is a little more than what they would have without it. And we do eat a lot of rice! I'm lucky I have a garden to fill in, & the weather to utilize it.

[Conservativesux]

8. Dont worry. It will be far worse in 2007/2008 when Peak Oil comes

....home to roost in a big way.

The economy will continue to tank to disaster levels as fuel costs skyrocket, and along with it the cost of everyday nessesity items.

[smurfygirl]

12. Prices are up.

My usual grocery bill is around 60 bucks every two weeks. It's now at around 45-50 a week. I'm vegan so I buy alot of produce which has strained my budget, but I have been growing my own food this year.

So far, I have gotten lettuces, spinach, peas, and carrots from my garden. This has been alot of fun and my husband loves it. I try to buy freezable produce when it's on sale and freeze it. It helps some. I too am paying alot more for toilet paper and paper towels.

I also noticed that none of our grocery stores carry recycled paper products which makes me wonder if they are any cheaper.
Oh yeah, I'm in southern Indiana across from louisville.

[Wizard777]

13. It's called inflation. We've been expecting it and it's gonna be bad.

As it turns out the only thing worse than Reagans voodoo economics is Bush's doodoo economics. Just when you thought the Republicans couldn't sink any lower. LOOK OUT BELOW! But hey it'll work next time when the Republicans bring it back as OH SHIT! economics.

[HEyHEY]

14. Fuck yeah, fuck Jim Pattison

No reason for it either... I spoke to Orchardists the other day... they said, government aid means nothing, Because the buyers just drop their rate by as much as the Government subsidizes

[JDPriestly]

15. Ye

Lettuce - 98 cents was 79 cents
Ice cream - $3.98 was $2.50 (might have been on sale. If don't buy it all the time.)

Chicken was down -- due to the after Easter season, but other meats have been going up all year -- extremely much. I don't buy beef any more as a protest against the failure to safeguard our supply by testing a higher percent of cattle for diseases.

[RebelOne]

16. I shop the Super Target in my neighborhood every week.

And their prices are cheaper than the other grocery stores. But their prices have gone up on everything within the past month or so.

[radfringe]

17. yes

and the higher they go the more we cut back

[AzDar]

18. Chandler, AZ....and since I have a 2-year-old, and an 8-year-old, my

grocery list pretty much consists of the same items every week. This week at the Super-Wally, EVERY single item I purchased had gone up at least a few cents! (around 3-6 cents was the average).
The rising cost of fuel is even trickling down to Costco, where I've also noticed an increase,(albeit slight..and not on EVERY item). Couple all this with the extra we're shelling out at the pump..and it can really affect your budget. Why does the Wee Cowboy hate the Middle Class??

[SpiralHawk]

19. Time to start planting gardens this weekend

in most places across the USA.

The advantage of a home or neighborhood garden are many: clean, safe food; fresh, healthy food; good exercise and fresh air; a grounding connection with the earth in a dizzying era; and you can save a few bucks. If you save your seed -- not that hard to do -- you can save more, and build greater fundamental security.

"The Earth is our Mother,
We must take care of her"

[DemBeans]

25. glad you brought that up

I'm putting in my vegetable garden this weekend. It's great exercise (okay, sometimes too much!) and you know exactly what you're getting. I've noticed that produce prices are rising higher than anything else so far, and if they continue to rise your garden will turn out to be a useful investment.

If there are city dwellers out there, a lot of cities are putting in community gardens as part of redevelopment plans - you put in some work, and get to share in the harvest. It's a win-win all around.

[AnnInLa]

20. Louisiana....prices are up

Am frustrated because the prices of fresh fruits and veggies are much higher than the prices of junk-food like cookies, candy, etc. Am going to drag out the old crock pot and start making meals from scratch instead of buying prepared foods. Damn, wish I had enough room for a garden! (My experiment with growing tomatoes in pots turned out badly, very badly.)

[oldgrowth]

21. Its been going up all the time here in Oregon!!!!

[demgurl]

23. Yes, prices are rising higher and higher.

I coupon like another person here mentioned and I am not used to really paying anything for my groceries. For the last five years, between mystery shopping and couponing, I have never paid more than $500 for food in a single year.

I am the head of a coupon group where everyone is very frugal, we just do not pay for food. Anyway, we had triple coupons the other weekend and I told everyone that even if they had to pay a little for something, pay it now before the prices go way up. These are people who usually go to triples and get $300 worth of groceries for under $5 and people were reporting in with totals in the $20-30 range.

Everything is going up. I can not even believe people can afford meat! I think stores will start opening banks next to the meat department so people can take out loans to eat.

Yes, things are going up and it will get much worse before it ever gets better!

[Lone_Wolf]

24. Prices are rising AND food is packaged in smaller quantities...

I rarely buy ice cream, but the last time I bought it I am sure it was packaged in a 2 quart container. I bought some the other night and noticed that it was in a 1.75 quart container. Even if the price per carton remained the same, it still works out to about a 14% increase in price.

[wishlist]

26. Food companies have acknowledged raising prices in the last quarter

CSNBC business news this week rattled off stats on several food companies who reported higher profits this year due to "successfully passing on rising energy costs to consumers".

In the past couple of weeks I have been stunned to see 10 to 20% across the board increases in many items plus it seems like my favorite locally owned chain store has had fewer items on sale. In the past I could always count on at least one brand of any given item being on sale, but lately I have noticed entire sections with no reduced items.

[deacon]

28. BIG time. they have been rising steadily for the last 3 months

it keeps getting worse and worse.