Food Prices
 

I just recently started notice food prices at the grocery stores. Bread is $4.59. Only a year ago it use to be $3.50. My cereal box's content is getting slimmer these days too while its price jumped about a dollar. WTF is going on?

Re: Food Prices
 

Pretty simple. Gas.

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It can't be just gas can it?

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If you have a super wal-mart near by I suggest shopping there. I can't stand shopping there but you save so much money. Gas prices are soaring and in turn so are food prices.

By the way does anyone else love driving by the gas station and seeing a new price every freaking day?

Re: Food Prices
 

It is gas. Everything in your grocery store comes via truck, be it a vendor or a super market truck. Now, I'm not totally sure if a jump that big is because of gas, that seems hardcore.

Personally, I'll never shop at Super Wal-Mart, Harris Teeter, or BJs Wholesale because of the way they treat vendors. But that's a bit closer to my heart than most. When you have to stand outside in the rain while the bread is getting drenched in rain because they'll only let one person in at a time, then complain that the bread is wet, I get pissed. Wonder why their bread randomly goes moldy far before the expiration date!

Re: Food Prices
 

[quote=Daseal;445684]It is gas. Everything in your grocery store comes via truck, be it a vendor or a super market truck. Now, I'm not totally sure if a jump that big is because of gas, that seems hardcore.

Personally, I'll never shop at Super Wal-Mart, Harris Teeter, or BJs Wholesale because of the way they treat vendors. But that's a bit closer to my heart than most. When you have to stand outside in the rain while the bread is getting drenched in rain because they'll only let one person in at a time, then complain that the bread is wet, I get pissed. Wonder why their bread randomly goes moldy far before the expiration date![/quote]
Its not just gas prices but now that the goverment maindates that we use gas with E10 there is more demand for corn or whatever they use.

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Family of 4, average $900 p/mo................Sam's/Costco

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It is actually a complicated confluence of things. We are unfortunately in the beginning stages of the first global food crisis in a long time right now. Here is an article from the Post that does a good job summing up the multiple economic forces at play here. [url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/26/ST2008042602333.html]The New Economics of Hunger - washingtonpost.com[/url]

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Matty, that drives me in-f-ing-sane... It's not just a penny or two, or some kind of fluctuation, it's like 4-5 cents up a day...

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[quote=TheMalcolmConnection;445709]Matty, that drives me in-f-ing-sane... It's not just a penny or two, or some kind of fluctuation, it's like 4-5 cents up a day...[/quote]

I know, I went by a gas station last week on Thursday and I think the price was $3.60 and I was at about a 1/4 tank, so I was like I'll fill up on my way home after work. Well, after work it was up to $3.69!

This morning it was $3.73. :doh:

Re: Food Prices
 

[quote=Daseal;445684]It is gas. Everything in your grocery store comes via truck, be it a vendor or a super market truck. Now, I'm not totally sure if a jump that big is because of gas, that seems hardcore.

Personally, I'll never shop at Super Wal-Mart, Harris Teeter, or BJs Wholesale because of the way they treat vendors. But that's a bit closer to my heart than most. When you have to stand outside in the rain while the bread is getting drenched in rain because they'll only let one person in at a time, then complain that the bread is wet, I get pissed. Wonder why their bread randomly goes moldy far before the expiration date![/quote]

Believe me I despise even being seen near a wal-mart, but our weekly grocery bill typically runs around $125 or so and last week we finally gave in and went to wal-mart and barely broke $100.

Now that it's costing me over $50 to fill up my tank every week something's gotta give. Wal-Mart it is for groceries. :doh:

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It's a number of things with food prices, these are the main ones:

- As mentioned, gas. Shipping costs, and energy expenses required to process foods, are up.

- The fuel industry is buying up more corn for ethanol. So corn prices especially have gone up. Corn is also used to feed livestock, so that higher cost gets passed on to the prices of just about every kind of meat, poultry, and dairy you can think of.

- Global demand. The economic development in China and India has led to growth in the number of citizens wealthy enough to eat meats, which further increases the demand for corn/feed.

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[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection;445709]Matty, that drives me in-f-ing-sane... It's not just a penny or two, or some kind of fluctuation, it's like 4-5 cents up a day...[/QUOTE]

It's like some kind of absurd slot machine. Numbers keep on spinnin'...

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[QUOTE=Mattyk72;445714]Believe me I despise even being seen near a wal-mart, but our weekly grocery bill typically runs around $125 or so and last week we finally gave in and went to wal-mart and barely broke $100.

[B]Now that it's costing me over $50 to fill up my tank every week something's gotta give.[/B] Wal-Mart it is for groceries. :doh:[/QUOTE]

$50 sounds wonderful. I can't fill up if I'm lower than a 1/4 tank because I'll hit that damn $75 limit every time. I'm grateful to work about 10-15 minutes from home.

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What kind of bread are you buying?

I can get a loaf of regular white bread for $0.89 but I usually spring for the Italian for $1.59.

Just bought some last night too.


However, some foods I do notice an increase and I KNOW it's a combination of gas prices (because treehuggers aren't letting us use our own oil + taxes) and now demand for foods, expecially corn and grains, are up because a lot of the supply is being used to try to develop ethanol that is much less efficient than gasoline. It's not something we should pursue because it's less economical than gas and also disrupts the world food supply unnecessarily. It's causing some huge shortages in some Asian nations right now.

Until the hammer is put down on politicians who cater to the leftist "green" organizations who would rather starve the world than harm a tree and until gas taxes are controlled, we'll continue to see expensive fuel. We need to use our own reserves that could last generations while we research a TRUE alternative solution, not a bandaid like ethanol or electric cars. We need to build more refineries so we can cut down on imported oil and also more nuclear plants need built.

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All good points brought up. Something I've really tried to focus much more on is not wasting food. I think I heard on the news a couple of weeks back that the average household wastes 25% (and over $600/year) of the food in their refrigerator/pantry.

I'm not talking about you had a big meal, and can't finish that last spoonful. I'm talking about people buying a bunch of food and never even opening it before they buy more of the same. I try to buy only what I need and only wait until the absolute last minute to buy more.

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Buster, we may not share many common view points, but we share the the italian loafs are the best!

Smootsmack -- 25% seems insane to me. Sometimes I have to throw food out, but very rarely. Normally it's one piece of fruit that ends up not quite getting eaten on time, or the very end of something I made far too much of. Wow, that's a huge number.

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[quote=Daseal;445684]It is gas. Everything in your grocery store comes via truck, be it a vendor or a super market truck. Now, I'm not totally sure if a jump that big is because of gas, that seems hardcore.

Personally, I'll never shop at Super Wal-Mart, Harris Teeter, or BJs Wholesale because of the way they treat vendors. But that's a bit closer to my heart than most. When you have to stand outside in the rain while the bread is getting drenched in rain because they'll only let one person in at a time, then complain that the bread is wet, I get pissed. Wonder why their bread randomly goes moldy far before the expiration date![/quote]
I feel you. My husband's a bread man. I hope he never gets a Super Wal-Mart on his route.

If you guys think it's tough purchasing gas for your personal vehicles, try having to buy gas for a delivery truck every few days. Between our personal vehicles and the bread truck, we'll probably end up spending around $1000 this month on fuel.

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[quote=Buster;445734]What kind of bread are you buying?

I can get a loaf of regular white bread for $0.89 but I usually spring for the Italian for $1.59.

Just bought some last night too.
[/quote]

I like Oroweat Oatnut bread. I'm finding myself going to costco these days though to compensate and buy in bulk.

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What makes me sick is a buddy came back from fishing in Venezuela and said
diesel fuel was 8 cents a gallon! That is just not right.

My food bill is going up as well and I got two growing boys. Read were the average family is now spending about $300 more a month on groceries.

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[QUOTE=Daseal;445740]Buster, we may not share many common view points, but we share the the italian loafs are the best!

Smootsmack -- 25% seems insane to me. Sometimes I have to throw food out, but very rarely. Normally it's one piece of fruit that ends up not quite getting eaten on time, or the very end of something I made far too much of. Wow, that's a huge number.[/QUOTE]

I guess it's actually 14%

[url=http://www.wiscnews.com/bnr/opinion/283677]WiscNews.com : Baraboo News Republic[/url]

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[quote=riggins44;445754]What makes me sick is a buddy came back from fishing in Venezuela and said
diesel fuel was 8 cents a gallon! That is just not right.

My food bill is going up as well and I got two growing boys. Read were the average family is now spending about $300 more a month on groceries.[/quote]
Well the cost of gas there is more than 8 cents its that the goverment subsidises the gas to keep people happy.

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Firstdown, think a lot has to do with Chavez and his disgust for USA.

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What about the government subsidizing farmers not to farm? Or [URL="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,716684,00.html"]disposal of surplus wheat in the sea[/URL]?