Food prices could rise 5 %

[Dismom55]

Right now we pay about 2.59 gal for milk and eggs not on sale are going for 1.38 I buy bread at about a $1 a loaf for the kids as I do not eat bread, but when I do I get rye and that goes for about $3. Once in a great while they have sales on eggs, I try to stock up then so as not to pay that non sale price, like always. My mother used to get bread and freeze it, I do not have the freezer space for that I try to use coupons when I can, every penny saved helps.

 

[nunzia]

Milk in my area has been $2.00 to $2.50 per gallon for years. Good thing because we go through 5 gallons a week between the 4 of us. I heard that meat prices will go down at first as farmers sell off more cattle for slaughter rather than pay the higher feed prices due to the poor corn crop this year. Once that meat is gone in the marketplace, the prices will skyrocket, as will gas because ethanol is made from corn. The higher gas prices will cause everything else to go up.

In my area of NM milk is more like $3.40..except when it goes on sale at Lowes for $2.50, then I stock up and freeze.

 

[julieanddanny]

You can freeze milk? Never heard of that!

The state of Maine sets minimum milk prices and if you are lucky enough to find a place that sells at the minimum it's $3.20 - $3.50 per gallon! Most grocery stores do not sell at minimum. I can't imagine getting it for $2!

 

[eeyorethegreat]

That and more. We have alot of dairys here also but it does no good.

Gallon of milk 4.97. I bought 18 eggs the other day 3.37. I live in Maine. This weekend I need to take my oldest for some back to school shoping will do my groceries in NH. I will spend 1/2 of what I do here for the same stuff. A gallon of milk in NH is around 2.47.

I was amazed at how much milk costs for us Mainers. I wnt to Massachusetts and milk was over $1 cheaper.

 

[pigletto]

Yes, when there's a sale we freeze milk too. We use Skim so there's no separation issues and once it's thawed it tastes the same.

Where I am in Ontario I regularly pay close to $5 for milk, and maybe $3 or a bit less for a dozen eggs.
For a family of four we still only spend about 600-700 a month on groceries, but that's being very careful about shopping for what is on sale, stocking up a bit when meat prices come down, and cooking mostly from scratch.

 

[kathie859]

The variance of prices in the USA astound me sometimes. I live in one state, stay in Florida for a month or three in the winter and have an adult son living in SoCal who I visit often and grocery shop with him every trip. Prices in Kentucky are dirt cheap compared to the other two areas.

At home, I can usually get milk for <3.00 gallon and regular eggs for 1.19. There's a poultry farm near us and they supply free range eggs for 2.49 dz. Bananas are steady at .59 lb. and berries (black, straw, rasp, blue) go on sale for $2.00 including the organic ones. Meat has gotten more expensive; h I've been working on making meat a complimentary item--not the main--in my meals and doing various combinations of beans/rice/quinoa to provide protein. I think the inevitable price increases in food will encourage many to be more creative in using fresh ingredients and move to using less meat overall.

 

[mombrontrent]

Yes, when there's a sale we freeze milk too. We use Skim so there's no separation issues and once it's thawed it tastes the same.

Where I am in Ontario I regularly pay close to $5 for milk, and maybe $3 or a bit less for a dozen eggs.
For a family of four we still only spend about 600-700 a month on groceries, but that's being very careful about shopping for what is on sale, stocking up a bit when meat prices come down, and cooking mostly from scratch.

We only use skim milk too and only usually buy 1 bag a week so it's not really worth it to freeze as we don't use alot of it. I also cook almost everything from scratch and we don't evern eat alot of meat. Me and one DD are vegetarian and another rarley eats meat so mostly just my son and DH. We shop at Coscto alot, buy, eggs, meat and produce from a local organic farm (meat and eggs are much cheaper then grocery store ) and still spend $1000/mth. My DH is always telling me I buy too much expensive crap. I do buy alot of organic and whole greain foods and a box of multigrain pasta is double the price of the plain kind and organic yogurt cost more but I feel that you get what you pay for and I am willing to shell out more money for healthier foods. We also spend a LOT of money on fruits and veggies, at least $60-80/week sometimes even more.

 

[IDoDis]

In my area of NM milk is more like $3.40..except when it goes on sale at Lowes for $2.50, then I stock up and freeze.

I am in Albuquerque, so that could be the reason?? Smith's just had milk on sale for $1.99 a gallon. When it's not on sale there it is around $2.69, but I can buy it for $4.79 for two gallons at Costco. The Smith's price is for the store brand. Creamland is more - like $3.69 a gallon.

For the PP who said cherries are expensive, I just bought a 2 pound bag yesterday for .99 a pound.

I filled my gas tank for $3.08 a gallon yesterday. So far the prices are holding steady. I'm waiting for the shoe to drop at any time though.

 

[pigletto]

We only use skim milk too and only usually buy 1 bag a week so it's not really worth it to freeze as we don't use alot of it. I also cook almost everything from scratch and we don't evern eat alot of meat. Me and one DD are vegetarian and another rarley eats meat so mostly just my son and DH. We shop at Coscto alot, buy, eggs, meat and produce from a local organic farm (meat and eggs are much cheaper then grocery store ) and still spend $1000/mth. My DH is always telling me I buy too much expensive crap. I do buy alot of organic and whole greain foods and a box of multigrain pasta is double the price of the plain kind and organic yogurt cost more but I feel that you get what you pay for and I am willing to shell out more money for healthier foods. We also spend a LOT of money on fruits and veggies, at least $60-80/week sometimes even more.

This is a great time of year for local farms and produce isn't it? I try mostly to use what is in season and my sister and I do a bit of preserving, but we're amateurs so not much

DD is also a vegetarian, and dh, ds, and I eat meatless a few nights a week. Saves me from having to cook separate meals all the time, which I am sure you have to do in your house too.

We got rid of our Costco membership. I miss it for some things but my self control was zilch and I ALWAYS walked out of there spending a hundred or more than I planned.

 

[goodfood4ursoul]

A failed corn crop will not only raise the cost of beef and other meats that eat corn,
it'll raise the cost of fuel- 30% of the corn raised in the USA is made into ethanol.
So everything will be going up.

These are the times I am so glad we have our own free-range chickens and eggs.

We've had to water the garden some but we've had a bumper crop of yellow squash and the tomatoes and peppers are fixin' to start up.
It's nut-fill time, so we are having to drip-irrigate our pecan orchard every week.
We are praying that the well holds up.
We've had some showers, but not enough to do a whole lot.
But there's always a bright side:
we haven't had to mow the yard but once since June first.

 

[averysmom]

I'm in Manitoba Canada and a gallon on milk is $5.05 and a dozen eggs are usually around $2.75. A pound of generic cheddar cheese is just under $6.00 - but I can usually get it on sale for $4.50-5.00. Groceries are expensive here - I spend at minimum 200/week and I shop sales / flyers and cook / bake from scratch.

 

[nunzia]

I am in Albuquerque, so that could be the reason?? Smith's just had milk on sale for $1.99 a gallon. When it's not on sale there it is around $2.69, but I can buy it for $4.79 for two gallons at Costco. The Smith's price is for the store brand. Creamland is more - like $3.69 a gallon.

For the PP who said cherries are expensive, I just bought a 2 pound bag yesterday for .99 a pound.

I filled my gas tank for $3.08 a gallon yesterday. So far the prices are holding steady. I'm waiting for the shoe to drop at any time though.

Albuquerque isn't looking so bad! I'm in Alamogordo

 

[eliza61]

A failed corn crop will not only raise the cost of beef and other meats that eat corn,
it'll raise the cost of fuel- 30% of the corn raised in the USA is made into ethanol.
So everything will be going up.

These are the times I am so glad we have our own free-range chickens and eggs.

We've had to water the garden some but we've had a bumper crop of yellow squash and the tomatoes and peppers are fixin' to start up.
It's nut-fill time, so we are having to drip-irrigate our pecan orchard every week.
We are praying that the well holds up.
We've had some showers, but not enough to do a whole lot.
But there's always a bright side:
we haven't had to mow the yard but once since June first.

well according to news reports the drought is effecting the feed of the cows and chickens.

http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/30/pf/food-prices-drought/

This was from the 10th of july and according to cnn, it's not related to the cost of ethanol. cost of feed has risen reportedly 24-30%
http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/25/investing/corn-food-prices/index.htm?iid=EL

Whatever the reason a pound of ground beef is absolutely ridiculous

 

[IUTBAM]

I buy skim milk for $1.99/gallon at Sam's Club in Denver...it's been that price for a while. I pay between $1.25-$1.50 per dozen eggs, but I usually buy the 3-dozen size that costs less per dozen. I have noticed that apples have gone up, but my kids are apple-holics, so I still buy them, lol. I was paying .88 to .99/lb at Sprouts/Sunflower, and today I paid $1.57/lb. Bummer. lol Bananas are always between .55 and .60/lb. here. Cherries are cheap now ($1.50/lb), and nectarines too.

I stock up on non-perishables when I see a good price, because I know that the next time I buy it, it'll be higher. The tea bags I buy went up 20% just in the last few months. CRAZY!

 

[whoopsiedoodle]

These are the reasons I am such a coupon nut! I run a daycare so I feed on average 8 kids a day breakfast, lunch and two snacks. Plus most of my moms groceries and our household groceries and my total grocery bill is around $700/month. I make most of our food from scratch and most of our meat is already paid for. We got 1/2 cow for Christmas and bought a whole pig a couple months ago. Plus when Zaycon foods comes to town I buy 40-80 lbs of chicken at a time and then seperate, season and freeze for later. I can't imagine what I would spend if I didn't coupon!!

 

[Planogirl]

With ethanol more expensive, this could affect most foods due to higher transportation costs. I hope that the increase is "only" 5%.

Blech.