Groceries-annoyed

[Prairie~Phlox]

Lisbeth, I understand! I have gluten issues big time and also can no longer eat any other grain except rice, no fruit except green apples or non sweet citrus like lemons and limes, no longer tolerate pork, and barely tolerate any beef. I get tired of cooking for them and thinking about what to fix for myself. So I subsist on little because I have very little excitement for food. Maybe 500 or 600 calories a day. It's been his way for thee years. The only thing is, I am overweight and despite three years of perpetual malnourishment have never lost a pound! Sigh.

 

I understand very much about being bitter about diet and food. It sucks.

You don't lose weight because you aren't eating enough and your body knows this, so it's hanging on to what it can. If you can up your calories at all, you would lose the weight. I know it does not make sense, but it's true.

[Cinder]

It drives me nuts to see the little "New Lower Price!" signs in Kroger on items that were 40 cents cheaper a few months ago.

 

I used to say the same thing about Walmart's "Roll Back" signs on items that they'd increased prices for just previously. :glare:

 

That sounds wonderful and I am always tempted by tilapia in the stores but my family refuses to eat it.  They call it "dirt fish" because every time we've had it (admittedly only a few times) we have all agreed that it tastes like dirt.   When we've had it it was from different stores, some fresh some frozen.  It kills me not to buy it but everyone hates it so much.  Nothing I do seems to disguise the taste. 

 

Growing up I heard tilapia referred to as "trash fish" because it was a bottom dweller. No one I knew ate tilapia. Imagine my surprise many years later when it became a popular gourmet food. I still haven't tried it.

[Amira]

Yeah, I tend to see rising food costs here somewhat philosophically. Sort of a general realigning of costs of resources with our massive consumption of resources overall. I think a lot of US food costs have been artificially depressed for several decades by the way government has subsidized various industries, including the tremendous fuel costs involved in growing food, shipping it, refrigerating it, etc.

And I think those artificially low prices have skewed Americans' sense of what we should be able or expect to eat. It is easier for us to eat cheaply in the US after living in other countries where food choices are necessarily much more limited by budgets.

[fairfarmhand]

And I think those artificially low prices have skewed Americans' sense of what we should be able or expect to eat. It is easier for us to eat cheaply in the US after living in other countries where food choices are necessarily much more limited by budgets.

 

Yes, I do agree with this. The struggle is because people have planned their budgets for the last 40 years to align with cheap food. Then the price supports are being eroded over a period of 5-10 years and WOW! It is total sticker shock.

 

I do believe that people will begin adjusting to this "new normal." But it means that tough choices in the budget must be made.

 

I also hope (perhaps foolishly) that people will begin really examining the amount of food that is wasted in the household and perhaps begin growing even a little bit of their own food.

 

Although I do realize that there are many who are doing those things already and the rise in prices just makes them more discouraged because there IS nowhere in the budget to find extra funds.

 

[Amy in NH]

Do you have a couple of good adult friends who could help you with this?  Organize a harvest work day?

 

 

I'm really upset because I should be beginning my canning, dehydrating, freezing of the harvest soon and the accident has left me without the stamina I need to be standing and working that long. Feeding three teens is not fun! I am going to employ their assistance but even that is going to be tiring for all of us because once the wheelchair ramp and bathroom remodel is done so we can move home, I will need the other two boys to help me care for their brother and all three are high schoolers, C is a senior, so we can't take time out of the school schedule. I just have this sinking feeling about winter food prices and since we try to eat as much organic produce as possible, I feel I need to make my usual "putting up the harvest" happen.

Hugs to everyone that is struggling with rising prices.

 

[Lisbeth]

Lisbeth, I understand! I have gluten issues big time and also can no longer eat any other grain except rice, no fruit except green apples or non sweet citrus like lemons and limes, no longer tolerate pork, and barely tolerate any beef. I get tired of cooking for them and thinking about what to fix for myself. So I subsist on little because I have very little excitement for food. Maybe 500 or 600 calories a day. It's been his way for thee years. The only thing is, I am overweight and despite three years of perpetual malnourishment have never lost a pound! Sigh.

 

I understand very much about being bitter about diet and food. It sucks.

I completely empathize. It is exhausting. :( It's unfair to not lose weight if you want to, on such a diet. Double ugh!

[Lisbeth]

You don't lose weight because you aren't eating enough and your body knows this, so it's hanging on to what it can. If you can up your calories at all, you would lose the weight. I know it does not make sense, but it's true.

I agree with this, but it doesn't hold true for everyone. I have a high metabolism, still, in my 40s, and if I stop eating much, my body still burns up calories and I drop massive weight. I'm the type who would have died off in a famine. My ancestors must've always had a way to have food, because this skinny high metabolism thing runs big time on my dad's side.

[Jennifer3141]

Regular canning lids aren't supposed to be used more than once because the rubber is not the quality that it once was and there is higher risk of not sealing. The last time I had 14 pints that wouldn't seal. Mom had the same problem with a batch of tomatoes so we stopped reusing.

 

I switched us over to Tattler about five years ago and LOVE them. I haven't had to make a middle of the night run to Meijer's in forever. That used to drive me bonkers.

 

And before Ball took the BPA out of their lids, I didn't get why anyone would go to all the work of growing organic and hopefully heritage stuff, home process it and then cover it all up with BPA.

[Lisbeth]

Yeah, I tend to see rising food costs here somewhat philosophically. Sort of a general realigning of costs of resources with our massive consumption of resources overall. I think a lot of US food costs have been artificially depressed for several decades by the way government has subsidized various industries, including the tremendous fuel costs involved in growing food, shipping it, refrigerating it, etc.

Many others will feel it too if our government has to pull out of foreign aid if people here start to go hungry and need the aid instead. I mean that non-snarkily, but though many gasp at our consumption habits, they forget how much foreign aid we dole out, too.

[Amira]

Many others will feel it too if our government has to pull out of foreign aid if people here start to go hungry and need the aid instead. I mean that non-snarkily, but though many gasp at our consumption habits, they forget how much foreign aid we dole out, too.

 

I'll happily gasp at our consumption habits and wish we doled out a lot more in foreign aid at the same time.  It seems to me that decreasing American consumption would make it more possible to help the vast majority of people in the world who have far less than we do.

[Lisbeth]

Yes, I do agree with this. The struggle is because people have planned their budgets for the last 40 years to align with cheap food. Then the price supports are being eroded over a period of 5-10 years and WOW! It is total sticker shock.

 

I do believe that people will begin adjusting to this "new normal." But it means that tough choices in the budget must be made.

 

I also hope (perhaps foolishly) that people will begin really examining the amount of food that is wasted in the household and perhaps begin growing even a little bit of their own food.

 

Although I do realize that there are many who are doing those things already and the rise in prices just makes them more discouraged because there IS nowhere in the budget to find extra funds.

 

I also wish every family had a garden.

[Serenade]

Or the ever shrinking package, grrrr!

This is what I hate the most, and it borders on unethical, IMO. Just raise the dang price, and keep the size of the item the same.

[Lisbeth]

I'll happily gasp at our consumption habits and wish we doled out a lot more in foreign aid at the same time. It seems to me that decreasing American consumption would make it more possible to help the vast majority of people in the world who have far less than we do.

It is certainly your right to gasp at American consumption habits. It is a nice and charitable thing to provide foreign aid. But it is not our automatic duty to feed and police the world, especially while a good majority of them seem to hate or at leasy have disdain for us. That said, I abhor a child going hungry, ANYWHERE.

 

Sorry, this thread is veering from the original topic. I have sympathy for those having trouble with food here in the US, and it seems like someone always has to jump in and subtly (or not so) belittle their worries with different versions of "others in the world have it worse, Americans have been spoiled." Especially since many benefit from spoiled Americans. I will stop now, sorry to contribute to the derailment.

[Serenade]

I also wish every family had a garden.

Even a little garden helps. This year we only planted cucumbers and tomatoes. (We were gone for several weeks at the normal planting time.) The tomatoes haven't even come in yet because we planted them late, but I've had a really nice cucumber harvest, and we've been eating cucumber salad, or cucumber mixed with a tomato from the farmers market, for the past few weeks. I haven't had to buy lettuce or salad add-ins for a while. So nice. Of course, I could eat garden cucumbers every day of the year and not get tired of them.

[fairfarmhand]

Even a little garden helps. This year we only planted cucumbers and tomatoes. (We were gone for several weeks at the normal planting time.) The tomatoes haven't even come in yet because we planted them late, but I've had a really nice cucumber harvest, and we've been eating cucumber salad, or cucumber mixed with a tomato from the farmers market, for the past few weeks. I haven't had to buy lettuce or salad add-ins for a while. So nice. Of course, I could eat garden cucumbers every day of the year and not get tired of them.

And why not plant (instead of the ubiquitous maples and bradford pears in suburban developments) apple trees and pear trees in the landscape? Personally, that'd be a huge selling point for a house if I were buying.

[Um_2_4]

And why not plant (instead of the ubiquitous maples and bradford pears in suburban developments) apple trees and pear trees in the landscape? Personally, that'd be a huge selling point for a house if I were buying.

 

You'd love our house LOL. This year we planted 4 grape vines, 2 fig trees, 2 apple trees, 1 lemon tree, 1 orange tree, 1 mandarin orange tree, 1 apricot tree, and 2 peach trees. Plus our assorted herbs, tomatoes, chili peppers.

I am now just waiting for when I can reap the crops LOL. And next year, I want more veges.

[justamouse]

Prices here have risen so high that I've had to totally rework our grocery budget and menus. And I do have a garden, but when your grocery bill jumps 700 dollars and you're still buying the same old stuff, drastic measures have to be taken. 

What I've done, was what was recommended to me long ago (thatIi never listened to). Buy the same stuff every week, and then make different things with it. So now I have a set grocery list. (Obviously there are things I don't buy weekly-but it still works within the budget) So far, so good. It's enabled me not only to stay within budget, but to save me more so that I can use that $ elsewhere. 

[Um_2_4]

Ok, so I am now sitting here almost in tears (please tell me I am being silly :( ) because DH just called. He went to the butchers we usually get meat from (we only buy meat that has been prepared a certain way for religious reasons and this is one of the few places around here) and the ground beef that was 2.79/lb last month is now 3.49/lb!! (and they are out! no shipment till next week)

And ground beef in hamburgers, meatballs and meatloaves is one of the few things  DD8 ( who has sensory issues and is anemic) will happily eat. So all they had was the extra lean that is now 4.29/lb instead of 3.49/lb (because no one is buying it DUH, they are buying the cheaper cut). So I told him to get 5 lbs for over $20 instead of the 15 pounds I was expecting for less than $40!!! That is 1/3 the amount of meat!

 

So ideas for vege low carb meals for me and DH??? I was relying on the meat to get back on low carb diet.... guess that is out...

 

Ok, time to go rethink things and be glad we have a safe house and clean water...I am actually embarrassed I got this upset about this, but when DH called, this thread was all I could think of...

[justamouse]

I have had a health crisis and ca no longer eat any dairy, gluten, and some things like potatoes. I was a thinnish/ normal before and now have lost *50 lbs*… Some days I just get frustrated trying to find ok food, and eat very little. Food allergies abound in our fam, and SED. Our food costs were enormous before, but now that I have to live on air and buy less dairy, etc, I think we've stayed even. I guess it didn't occur to me that it should have gone down $ wise... since I synthesize sunlight and water like a plant.  :glare:

I am a bit bitter abt my dietary probs. ;)

However, our weirdness aside, how can people keep affording this? I would suggest food storage and bulk cooking, but it takes starter budgets to build up storage, and food money is already a prob for so many. :(

 

I'm grain, dairy, and egg free. Some of my kids are GF. I SO understand. (((hugs))) I wish I could eat that stuff, but the allergic reactions and sick mom help no one. 

 

[justamouse]

Ok, so I am now sitting here almost in tears (please tell me I am being silly :( ) because DH just called. He went to the butchers we usually get meat from (we only buy meat that has been prepared a certain way for religious reasons and this is one of the few places around here) and the ground beef that was 2.79/lb last month is now 3.49/lb!! (and they are out! no shipment till next week)

And ground beef in hamburgers, meatballs and meatloaves is one of the few things  DD8 ( who has sensory issues and is anemic) will happily eat. So all they had was the extra lean that is now 4.29/lb instead of 3.49/lb (because no one is buying it DUH, they are buying the cheaper cut). So I told him to get 5 lbs for over $20 instead of the 15 pounds I was expecting for less than $40!!! That is 1/3 the amount of meat!

 

So ideas for vege low carb meals for me and DH??? I was relying on the meat to get back on low carb diet.... guess that is out...

 

Ok, time to go rethink things and be glad we have a safe house and clean water...I am actually embarrassed I got this upset about this, but when DH called, this thread was all I could think of...

 

At Costco the large 10 pound meat we normally buy went from about 20 to 40 dollars, in one week. We no longer eat red meat except for two times a month now (and as a part of Sunday dinner). (((hugs)))

 

[Guest]

Ok, Faith, or anyone else...here's a canning question when you say you had many jars that failed to seal. Does that mean you processed them for some length of time, removed them, left them on the counter, but the lid never gave the "plink" of the seal? Or does this mean you did get the plink, the bellybutton had sucked in, yet in some length of time in storage, the seal released? Because I'm sitting here, having just canned tomatoes, hearing the plink, and, though I will check the seal by trying to pry it off, I do assume those seals will be fine.

[Aelwydd]

All true, and I could see it more philosophically if Dh didn't just take a job paying so much less than he previously made, and if we weren't digging out of a hole his unemployment put us in, and if I didn't have to work within a limited budget, and if I didn't look at Ds and wonder if he is getting all he needs nutritionally.

 

When I saw the rise in butter prices I thought about my cousin who used to be a dairy farmer and the conversation I had with him just before he sold out, and how little he made on milk. Somehow knowing the whys and wherefores doesn't make it any easier to feed a family on a strict budget.

 

I'm certainly thankful Dh found a job. I know 3 families personally who are dealing with long term unemployment. I can't even begin to understand how they are managing .

Not saying it doesn't suck. It's just something I don't see as bowing to public protest or a trend that's reversing itself anytime soon. For those reasons, I don't experience outrage anymore when I see prices going up. I refuse to hold on to old receipts. I already know it's costing more, and ever since that horrendous 2012 drought here in Texas, with the huge sell offs of cattle, and other livestock, combined with the loss of grain, I've figured food prices would have to reflect that.

 

We're mostly vegetarian now, though we still eat shrimp and fish. Chicken, pork, beef, etc., we don't eat. We've adopted a mostly Asian/ Indian diet due to both health issues and food costs.

 

Like I said, it sucks, but I don't see things improving. It's the new "normal."

[Aelwydd]

Yes, I do agree with this. The struggle is because people have planned their budgets for the last 40 years to align with cheap food. Then the price supports are being eroded over a period of 5-10 years and WOW! It is total sticker shock.

 

I do believe that people will begin adjusting to this "new normal." But it means that tough choices in the budget must be made.

 

I also hope (perhaps foolishly) that people will begin really examining the amount of food that is wasted in the household and perhaps begin growing even a little bit of their own food.

 

Although I do realize that there are many who are doing those things already and the rise in prices just makes them more discouraged because there IS nowhere in the budget to find extra funds.

 

Yep.

[melmichigan]

It's crazy for certain. We are having a way too mild summer in Michigan, not enough hot days, so produce is not ripening. If it continues, the bumper crops of veggies and fruits that normally keep produce prices down will not occur and autumn harvest prices will jump.

 

It is also affecting feed grain crops. We hadsuch a nasty spring that everything went in ate to begin with and now not enough heat. It very well may lower the yield on grains which will cause another jump in winter feed prices. This causes many livestock producers to slaughter a bunch of stock. If that happens, meat will go on sale and you better stok up because in the spring supply will be low and prices will shoot up again.

 

I hope you're right on the meat prices, I just ordered only a hind quarters hoping that prices will drop so that I can add to it in a few months.  For the first time ever they are requiring a deposit before they will process your order because the hanging weight is so high right now.

[Laura Corin]

Any other Aussies reading this thread and thinking...Oh my... I'd be thrilled with those prices. ;)

 

We pay 3.98 for a dozen eggs here...just sayin. ;)

 

No matter your price rises there are many people in the world who would love to have your prices. :)

 

I paid £2.40 for 15 eggs today - mixed size, free range.  Thats's US $4 for 15.

 

L

[Jane in NC]

Blame it on the weather...

 

These graphics are a couple of years old, but I thought NPR did a good job with explaining what it takes to produce a quarter pound burger.

 

 

 

Droughts in California and Texas are not going to help lower food prices anytime in the near future.

 

Sorry folks.  I fear it is the new normal--as others have stated.  I think it is wonderful that so many of you buy a fraction of a cow, make bone broth, use up the funky parts.  This is what our grandparents and some of our parents (including mine) did. I am not a beef eater anymore.  Being coastal, I probably eat a lot more seafood than many of you.  But I don't just eat the shrimp, for example. I make stock from shells and use that for flavoring in side dishes. 

 

We are seasonal eaters in part because of the poor quality of grocery store produce.  But then I am fortunate to be in driving distance of several farms. 

 

When I was a kid, canning was a family activity. What I did not realize at the time is that my tightwad parents had created a food snob by not purchasing processed food.  I really think it is the way to go.

 

Link for additional graphics:

 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/06/27/155527365/visualizing-a-nation-of-meat-eaters

[fairfarmhand]

I hope you're right on the meat prices, I just ordered only a hind quarters hoping that prices will drop so that I can add to it in a few months.  For the first time ever they are requiring a deposit before they will process your order because the hanging weight is so high right now.

 

yes! The deposit is because if you keep a steer to feed out right now and your buyer backs out, you may lose money because current prices are so high.

 

If we sold beef that 's what we would do.

[Aelwydd]

Many others will feel it too if our government has to pull out of foreign aid if people here start to go hungry and need the aid instead. I mean that non-snarkily, but though many gasp at our consumption habits, they forget how much foreign aid we dole out, too.

I'd just be happy if we closed even half our over 900 military bases worldwide, and redirected the tremendous amounts fuel used to run these bases towards domestic uses, such as food and infrastructure.

 

Also, I would trade the foreign aid sent to other countries in exchange for a withdrawal of US corporations from buying up land in African nations and other places to grow food which is sold and shipped elsewhere. People would need less aid if their resources like land and water weren't being coopted by voracious foreign industries. This is part if what is meant by the statement that the US consumes 25% of the world's total resources.

 

Americans are able to feed their families at a significantly reduced cost, because costs are being borne partly by other countries. Consequently, the foreign aid we render to many of these nations is not so much charity, as it is debt repayment.

 

This is not something that average American citizens have any political power or knowledge of to change. We are not privy to many of the unholy deals our government makes with private industries, both domestic and foreign. Increasingly, it is international corporations calling the shots, even to large governments.

 

So, I'm not feeling any satisfaction at all that average American families are feeling the pain of our economically weaker negotiating power.

 

I just hope that individuals and communities continue to find new and better ways to grow and produce more of their own food. I don't personally like how my food bill is subject to how big financial players have reduced things like food and drinking water to commodities.

 

Anyway, all that's to say that we Americans are just as subject the vagaries of international markets and corporate takeover as anyone else. We are not really in a position to look down on them. We need their resources to support and subsidize our economy.

[fairfarmhand]

 I don't personally like how my food bill is subject to how big financial players have reduced things like food and drinking water to commodities.

 

 

 

BINGO!

 

Have you read Joel Salatin's, Folks, This Aint Normal ?

[Aelwydd]

BINGO!

 

Have you read Joel Salatin's, Folks, This Aint Normal ?

Haven't read the book, but I think I've seen him on a food documentary. If he's the same person, I definitely agree with him. DH and I are planning to do a mini container garden on our apartment balconies (we have two) and grow onions, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, and anything else we can fit, lol.