Stunned and very sad at the huge increase in the price of groceries and the emptiness of shelves.

[AngelaGT]

I did some more serious grocery shopping today at a couple of local stores and will make a trip to stock up at Costco and Aldi tomorrow.  Serious shopping happens about once every four to six weeks and picking up needed produce or a few missing items happens weekly.  I was amazed and shocked at the increase in prices.  I typically purchase bulk quantity of the items that I like to use when they are on sale and only purchase if absolutely necessary when not on sale.  Even the sale prices seemed to be extremely inflated.  I am thankful that I like to cook and bake from scratch and can afford some of the higher prices for healthier staples, but what about all those who cannot.  The cat chasing its tail about the woes of health care costs, but then many do not have the ability to afford healthier foods that might stave off some of the health care situations. It just makes me profoundly sad and angry.  Other than donating food to our local pantry and donating money to Compassion (to care for women and children in developing countries) I wish there was a significant way that I could influence our economy and government to do differently. I know it is a complicated mess:(

[fairfarmhand]

YES!

I feel the exact same way. My family can adjust the budget (and we have done so) to accommodate the increases in fuel costs and food costs. But for the families who were just barely making it...how on earth can they manage? I mean I remember when my dh and I were newly married and our dd was born. I had grocery shopping down to a science. I knew exactly what I could afford and planned our whole menu around sales. I even figured sales tax as I made my shopping list each week. Money was THAT tight. I didn't waste anything. All leftovers were eaten. There have to be thousands of people in similar situations and how on earth can they manage? 

I mean groceries and fuel to get to work are not luxuries. They are necessities.

[HomeAgain]

Root cause, as I understand it, is a long term supply chain problem with not having enough people to transport, stock, load, etc. various goods.  And some price fixing by meat conglomerates.

Bluntly, many of the 800,000 dead and millions with long term covid used to have jobs.  Those positions are unfilled and there is a labor shortage.  I'm not sure how to get around that.

We have slowly made the move to a more vegetarian heavy meal base, but even that is hard with anything that is prepared.  I went to buy vegetable stock this week and there wasn't any.  The entire aisle was filled with cartons of store brand chicken stock.  So, I'm making my own.  We have a lot of rice and potato based meals right now because it's cheap and filling so we can use less of other things.  But yeah, it sucks, and I'm not sure what to do about it for the rest of our community.

[MercyA]

My dad has been a grocer for almost 50 years, and believe me, it's not the grocers doing the mark-up. They only make 1-2% profit on groceries, if that. It's such a slim margin to be able to stay in business when you're not a mega-store.

He's been getting trucks in with half or less of what they ordered regularly. 😞 

[Pawz4me]

1 minute ago, HomeAgain said:

 

Bluntly, many of the 800,000 dead and millions with long term covid used to have jobs.  Those positions are unfilled and there is a labor shortage.

Not to mention the older workers who have decided to retire rather than deal with work place issues/risking their health during a pandemic (two million more than would have been expected to retire during the same time period if things had been normal).

I too have tremendous sympathy for those on tight budgets.

[fairfarmhand]

2 minutes ago, MercyA said:

My dad has been a grocer for almost 50 years, and believe me, it's not the grocers doing the mark-up. They only make 1-2% profit on groceries, if that. It's such a slim margin to be able to stay in business when you're not a mega-store.

He's been getting trucks in with half or less of what they ordered regularly. 😞 

I can tell you it's not the farmers getting it either! The poor feed mill lady decries every time I go in and feed has gone up "I'm sorry! Our suppliers just...It's not me! I promise!"

[AnneGG]

It is a trying time for us. 
 

Our electric bill has soared. We’ve kept on 63 this winter and we are cold. Last year we kept on 70 and didn’t think twice about it. We’re trying to conserve our firewood because it’s doubled in price too. 
 

Food is fine for now. Luckily I saved a lot from our CSA last summer. My dad used to say his mama always filled the belly first and dosed them with vitamins later. I can see that becoming my mantra here  shortly. 

[kbutton]

24 minutes ago, HomeAgain said:

Bluntly, many of the 800,000 dead and millions with long term covid used to have jobs.  Those positions are unfilled and there is a labor shortage.  I'm not sure how to get around that.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/long-covid-labor-market-missing-workers/?fbclid=IwAR0pSetKppn46YRnqkwb0GyCsHC-XdtdmI-ql_UAPBiX-gKdWDeMT_n-ydI

According to this article, long Covid has created something like a 1.6 million worker shortage if you account for part-time job loss as well as full-time. The total shortage (unattributed) is around 2.2 million workers down from pre-Covid. If you factor in that a chunk of the deaths were in people who were already retired, it's pretty clear that we have a major Covid worker loss problem that is being downplayed. 

[prairiewindmomma]

20 minutes ago, kbutton said:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/long-covid-labor-market-missing-workers/?fbclid=IwAR0pSetKppn46YRnqkwb0GyCsHC-XdtdmI-ql_UAPBiX-gKdWDeMT_n-ydI

According to this article, long Covid has created something like a 1.6 million worker shortage if you account for part-time job loss as well as full-time. The total shortage (unattributed) is around 2.2 million workers down from pre-Covid. If you factor in that a chunk of the deaths were in people who were already retired, it's pretty clear that we have a major Covid worker loss problem that is being downplayed. 

+ add in that we have had a steep decline in immigration numbers over the last few years. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/u-s-labor-shortages-tied-to-low-immigration-in-past-two-years-11642022353

[prairiewindmomma]

My kids’ schools have started food and clothing banks because they are seeing so many hungry families who are having difficulties accessing food banks. Free school lunches from USDA are mitigating some of the hunger but I am really worried about when those programs expire. 

[wintermom]

I take a quick breath of shock whenever I see the rising cost of gas. Yikes!! 

[ScoutTN]

1 hour ago, HomeAgain said:

Root cause, as I understand it, is a long term supply chain problem with not having enough people to transport, stock, load, etc. various goods.  And some price fixing by meat conglomerates.

Bluntly, many of the 800,000 dead and millions with long term covid used to have jobs.  Those positions are unfilled and there is a labor shortage.  I'm not sure how to get around that.

We have slowly made the move to a more vegetarian heavy meal base, but even that is hard with anything that is prepared.  I went to buy vegetable stock this week and there wasn't any.  The entire aisle was filled with cartons of store brand chicken stock.  So, I'm making my own.  We have a lot of rice and potato based meals right now because it's cheap and filling so we can use less of other things.  But yeah, it sucks, and I'm not sure what to do about it for the rest of our community.

And some people have health conditions which prevent eating a less expensive, carb-heavy diet. I have T2 diabetes and cannot have grain or potato based meals. Protein, low starch veggies, and good fats with a smidge of healthy carb veggies or whole grain here and there. I know many other on this board have similar limitations. 

 

[ScoutTN]

6 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

I can tell you it's not the farmers getting it either! The poor feed mill lady decries every time I go in and feed has gone up "I'm sorry! Our suppliers just...It's not me! I promise!"

I am glad that our local supply of meat seems unaffected. No large price jumps, though some small increases. I buy meat, eggs and milk from local farmers all year round, and veggies in the summer (in addition to our own garden - that has been mostly herbs and flowers in recent years, probably going back to more veggies this year!) 

Edited February 5, 2022 by ScoutTN

[Ausmumof3]

Fresh fruit and veg is the worst here. The roads and rail between east where we are and Western Australia have all had flood damage and currently 80pc of the stockists for WA supermarkets can’t get through according to ABC. More weather expected.  Fuel prices have settled down a bit thankfully though I’m not sure how long for. Meat seems to be back on the fridge shelves though maybe smaller quantities than before.

I really want to increase our garden space so we’re less dependent. We have some of our own fruit which is helping but the cooler year means the few veges we have in are behind 

It has been good for one of my kids who has had picking and farm work though.

Edited February 4, 2022 by Ausmumof3

[Melissa in Australia]

Be glad you don’t live in the west of Australia. 80% of the supplies cannot make it to that state because of extreme flooding. They only have fresh produce

[Melissa in Australia]

7 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Fresh fruit and veg is the worst here. The roads and rail between east where we are and Western Australia have all had flood damage and currently 80pc of the stockists for WA supermarkets can’t get through according to ABC. More weather expected.  Fuel prices have settled down a bit thankfully though I’m not sure how long for. Meat seems to be back on the fridge shelves though maybe smaller quantities than before.

I really want to increase our garden space so we’re less dependent. We have some of our own fruit which is helping but the cooler year means the few veges we have in are behind 

It has been good for one of my kids who has had picking and farm work though.

I am trying some Asian veggies in the garden. They grow quick. Every morning I go out at sunrise and wipe off the cabbage moth eggs and it seems to be working

[Faith-manor]

 

Our daughter is determined to plant more fruit trees/bushes this year as well as have raised bed gardens. She has growing boys to feed and a husband with a LOT of food allergies so it is already so expensive to feed them. Groceries in our area of Michigan are still way cheaper than what she is paying in the Rocket City so I am hoping at some point to take cooler of meats plus some dry foods like the specialty flour she makes her husband's bread from down to them. The flour is half price what it is there, and it is NOT reasonably priced at all so yikes! 

I actually got a box of organic produce from Misfits cheaper than I could have bought those same items not organic in the supermarket. 😯

I worry about grocery prices for my medically underweight boy who simply cannot.cut back on the amount he buys without a serious health crisis. We are sending him some extra money, and I am going to visit him next week, and take some groceries with me. 

I also worry about the quality to food our college senior will be getting. I know the college will reduce quality and quantity over this, and we have paid PRIMO for his meal plan. 😡 I thinks by the time I get him home on spring break, he is going to be ravenous and eat me out of house and home! Thankfully, our half beef from the fall is holding out, I have two turkey breasts and one whole turkey in the freezer, and lots of frozen veggies from the garden this past summer as well as home canned tomatoes, and some dehydrated vegetables. I can keep everyone fed for a while. 

I am very concerned about low income folks in our area because the winter's heating bills have been monster awful. I think there may be people going hungry in my community. There is one food pantry for the whole county. Not good. We are donating to them.

[Scarlett]

3 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

YES!

I feel the exact same way. My family can adjust the budget (and we have done so) to accommodate the increases in fuel costs and food costs. But for the families who were just barely making it...how on earth can they manage? I mean I remember when my dh and I were newly married and our dd was born. I had grocery shopping down to a science. I knew exactly what I could afford and planned our whole menu around sales. I even figured sales tax as I made my shopping list each week. Money was THAT tight. I didn't waste anything. All leftovers were eaten. There have to be thousands of people in similar situations and how on earth can they manage? 

I mean groceries and fuel to get to work are not luxuries. They are necessities.

I was the same way through much of my life.....I do wonder how people are making it.  There are ways to do it but many people do not know how to buy and cook with more basic stuff and even if they do they do not have the time.  My mom was a master at stretching a dime....we ate a lot of beans, fried potatoes and cornbread....and M&Cheese.......in the summer we ate from the garden. I remember she would make a meal for the 3 of us (her, my brother and me) out of tomato soup and grilled cheese.  It was such a treat and we were never hungry.

I have a photographic memory almost of grocery prices.....so I have really been noticing things go up.

[prairiewindmomma]

I don’t think we are anywhere close to done on price hikes. Reuters is carrying this piece today: https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/kisses-kleenex-consumer-product-makers-plot-additional-us-price-hikes-2022-02-04/

[Melissa Louise]

Price hikes on food are scary.

I hold my breath at the checkout. 

What's most bothering me is the cost of fruit and veg - dairy and meat are holding steady - but I don't want to have to be rationing vegetables! 

[Sneezyone]

4 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

YES!

I feel the exact same way. My family can adjust the budget (and we have done so) to accommodate the increases in fuel costs and food costs. But for the families who were just barely making it...how on earth can they manage? I mean I remember when my dh and I were newly married and our dd was born. I had grocery shopping down to a science. I knew exactly what I could afford and planned our whole menu around sales. I even figured sales tax as I made my shopping list each week. Money was THAT tight. I didn't waste anything. All leftovers were eaten. There have to be thousands of people in similar situations and how on earth can they manage? 

I mean groceries and fuel to get to work are not luxuries. They are necessities.

They don’t. They rely on family and friends to fill in the gaps.

[Sneezyone]

1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:

 

Our daughter is determined to plant more fruit trees/bushes this year as well as have raised bed gardens. She has growing boys to feed and a husband with a LOT of food allergies so it is already so expensive to feed them. Groceries in our area of Michigan are still way cheaper than what she is paying in the Rocket City so I am hoping at some point to take cooler of meats plus some dry foods like the specialty flour she makes her husband's bread from down to them. The flour is half price what it is there, and it is NOT reasonably priced at all so yikes! 

I actually got a box of organic produce from Misfits cheaper than I could have bought those same items not organic in the supermarket. 😯

I worry about grocery prices for my medically underweight boy who simply cannot.cut back on the amount he buys without a serious health crisis. We are sending him some extra money, and I am going to visit him next week, and take some groceries with me. 

I also worry about the quality to food our college senior will be getting. I know the college will reduce quality and quantity over this, and we have paid PRIMO for his meal plan. 😡 I thinks by the time I get him home on spring break, he is going to be ravenous and eat me out of house and home! Thankfully, our half beef from the fall is holding out, I have two turkey breasts and one whole turkey in the freezer, and lots of frozen veggies from the garden this past summer as well as home canned tomatoes, and some dehydrated vegetables. I can keep everyone fed for a while. 

I am very concerned about low income folks in our area because the winter's heating bills have been monster awful. I think there may be people going hungry in my community. There is one food pantry for the whole county. Not good. We are donating to them.

The neighborhood I grew up in had a ton of fruit trees planted during WW2. I’m retooling my yard to include more edibles as well. My raised beds are going in this spring.

[prairiewindmomma]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-16/u-s-kids-go-hungry-as-safety-net-ebbs-and-inflation-soars

ETA: article notes US babies with stunted growth from inadequate nutrition

Edited February 5, 2022 by prairiewindmomma

[Melissa in Australia]

45 minutes ago, Melissa Louise said:

Price hikes on food are scary.

I hold my breath at the checkout. 

What's most bothering me is the cost of fruit and veg - dairy and meat are holding steady - but I don't want to have to be rationing vegetables! 

Have you thought about hydrophonics

 I know someone in melb that is in s rental and is growing enough lettuce for one every day of the year with a small hydroponic set up

[Melissa Louise]

22 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

Have you thought about hydrophonics

 I know someone in melb that is in s rental and is growing enough lettuce for one every day of the year with a small hydroponic set up

I don't know anything about hydroponics - I have a black thumb and it might extend to growing things in water! Might mention it to dd though. 

[Ausmumof3]

1 hour ago, Melissa Louise said:

Price hikes on food are scary.

I hold my breath at the checkout. 

What's most bothering me is the cost of fruit and veg - dairy and meat are holding steady - but I don't want to have to be rationing vegetables! 

The price doesn’t seem to have hit frozen veg get. My family really don’t like eating it but I can hide it in curry etc.

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-05/oodnadatta-pub-south-australia-flood-affected-food-running-out/100806866
 

Situation in the middle of Aus right now.

 

[TechWife]

5 hours ago, kbutton said:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/long-covid-labor-market-missing-workers/?fbclid=IwAR0pSetKppn46YRnqkwb0GyCsHC-XdtdmI-ql_UAPBiX-gKdWDeMT_n-ydI

According to this article, long Covid has created something like a 1.6 million worker shortage if you account for part-time job loss as well as full-time. The total shortage (unattributed) is around 2.2 million workers down from pre-Covid. If you factor in that a chunk of the deaths were in people who were already retired, it's pretty clear that we have a major Covid worker loss problem that is being downplayed. 

In addition, so many people have had Covid in the last six weeks that the resulting, necessary sick leave is slowing production & distribution because there simply aren’t enough people coming to work regularly. 

[Frances]

I’m sorry for those dealing with increased prices and shortages. While I’ve definitely noticed price increases, I haven’t experienced recent shortages here at all. In fact, it’s the best it’s been during the pandemic. Maybe weather is affecting other parts of the country more than here?

[Pam in CT]

12 minutes ago, Frances said:

I’m sorry for those dealing with increased prices and shortages. While I’ve definitely noticed price increases, I haven’t experienced recent shortages here at all. In fact, it’s the best it’s been during the pandemic. Maybe weather is affecting other parts of the country more than here?

Same here except different weather conditions. Price increases definitely, particularly for meat/chicken and gas. But no shortages (except runs on milk etc when we're immediately due for a blizzard, but we always had that even back in the Beforetimes).

[mum]

I’ve been expanding my food garden. If anyone in the US would like garden advice, a good place to go is your county master gardeners. They’ll have a website and contact info. They are so good at knowing what grows well where you live. Seed catalogs are fun, but not everything grows well everywhere. 

One of the most prolific plants for leafy greens is a collard tree. I had 4 last year and they would have fed a family of 6 easily. I had to give 2 whole trees away because we couldn’t eat the leaves fast enough. They’ll stand 100 degree heat all summer long. And here they produce all winter too (CA). It’s a tree, so plant it once and it lives for many years. 

Edited February 5, 2022 by mum
Clarity

[mom2scouts]

1 hour ago, Frances said:

I’m sorry for those dealing with increased prices and shortages. While I’ve definitely noticed price increases, I haven’t experienced recent shortages here at all. In fact, it’s the best it’s been during the pandemic. Maybe weather is affecting other parts of the country more than here?

Possibly. Our Aldi's was almost completely empty last week because of a snowstorm. The truck couldn't make the delivery and then couldn't come at all until the next scheduled delivery date due to driver shortages. My Facebook feed was filled with people saying, "Don't bother going to Aldi's this week. The shelves are EMPTY!"

[farawayyama]

8 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

Not to mention the older workers who have decided to retire rather than deal with work place issues/risking their health during a pandemic (two million more than would have been expected to retire during the same time period if things had been normal).

I too have tremendous sympathy for those on tight budgets.

My mother in law is in this situation. She's a college professor and when they refused to have appropriate social distancing, she resigned. She didn't want to do so.

[vonfirmath]

9 hours ago, AngelaGT said:

I did some more serious grocery shopping today at a couple of local stores and will make a trip to stock up at Costco and Aldi tomorrow.  Serious shopping happens about once every four to six weeks and picking up needed produce or a few missing items happens weekly.  I was amazed and shocked at the increase in prices.  I typically purchase bulk quantity of the items that I like to use when they are on sale and only purchase if absolutely necessary when not on sale.  Even the sale prices seemed to be extremely inflated.  I am thankful that I like to cook and bake from scratch and can afford some of the higher prices for healthier staples, but what about all those who cannot.  The cat chasing its tail about the woes of health care costs, but then many do not have the ability to afford healthier foods that might stave off some of the health care situations. It just makes me profoundly sad and angry.  Other than donating food to our local pantry and donating money to Compassion (to care for women and children in developing countries) I wish there was a significant way that I could influence our economy and government to do differently. I know it is a complicated mess:(

I love that you help Compassion.

We have some sponsored kids. But with everything going up, it is definitely affecting our ability to continue to sponsor.

[Rosie_0801]

4 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said:

Have you thought about hydrophonics

 I know someone in melb that is in s rental and is growing enough lettuce for one every day of the year with a small hydroponic set up

My Malaysian friend said a lot of the Asian greens do better that way than in the ground.

[Frances]

1 hour ago, mom2scouts said:

Possibly. Our Aldi's was almost completely empty last week because of a snowstorm. The truck couldn't make the delivery and then couldn't come at all until the next scheduled delivery date due to driver shortages. My Facebook feed was filled with people saying, "Don't bother going to Aldi's this week. The shelves are EMPTY!"

We made a rare trip to Trader Joe’s last night and when we were checking out, the clerks kept commenting on all of the things we purchased that they couldn’t believe were still available in the evening. They said some extra boxes had come along with the most recent delivery. Our pick-up grocery order from a locally owned store also contained all but two items, a new pandemic record.

[KungFuPanda]

18 hours ago, AnneGG said:

It is a trying time for us. 
 

Our electric bill has soared. We’ve kept on 63 this winter and we are cold. Last year we kept on 70 and didn’t think twice about it. We’re trying to conserve our firewood because it’s doubled in price too. 
 

Food is fine for now. Luckily I saved a lot from our CSA last summer. My dad used to say his mama always filled the belly first and dosed them with vitamins later. I can see that becoming my mantra here  shortly. 

The landscape business I work for sells firewood. Prices have gone up since I started in October. It’s nuts. With everyone home and burning extra wood last year, the supply of seasoned wood was so depleted that it’s been a scramble to get more. You can cut more wood, but it’s not going to be ready THIS year. We’re selling face cords of oak for $390 now. (We deliver to DC, so it’s a HCOL area.) When you put the labor shortage on top of that, it gets expensive. You can FIND free wood, but if you want a person to chop, season, and deliver to your area, or home, it gets expensive. 

10 hours ago, mum said:

I’ve been expanding my food garden. If anyone in the US would like garden advice, a good place to go is your county master gardeners. They’ll have a website and contact info. They are so good at knowing what grows well where you live. Seed catalogs are fun, but not everything grows well everywhere. 

One of the most prolific plants for leafy greens is a collard tree. I had 4 last year and they would have fed a family of 6 easily. I had to give 2 whole trees away because we couldn’t eat the leaves fast enough. They’ll stand 100 degree heat all summer long. And here they produce all winter too (CA). It’s a tree, so plant it once and it lives for many years. 

Wait. I don’t know about collard trees. Do you start from seed? I’m doubling down on the perennial veggies and this gots my plan. 
 

Eta:  I must either be in a well-supplied area or just cook/shop differently. I’ve had no trouble getting everything I usually use. Occasionally they’ll be out of something and I’ll get it next time or from another store, but I haven’t seen tragically bare shelves for a while now. 

Edited February 5, 2022 by KungFuPanda

[ScoutTN]

My Dd’s scouting organization does a food drive for a food pantry in a low income neighborhood each January. Last year, our contributions went into an already fairly full stockroom. This year, so many bare shelves!! I was not able to attend the event and looked at the photos last night. Despite the budget crunch, I am purposing to set aside some funds each month for food donations. I have lived hungry before, when I was much younger and single. I cannot imagine how hard it is with children! 
 

[ScoutTN]

My most economical meals that are also healthy and work for my food limitations are soups/stews.  I buy beef bones inexpensively from local farmers and use roaster chx carcasses to make stock. I got 5 batches in my 7qt crock pot from our TG turkey! Homemade stock is easy, inexpensive, and healthy! SO much better than store bought!!! 

I use the ends, peelings, and trimmings of veggies that otherwise would be compost- celery, onion, carrots, and whatever else I have- for some of the veggies, saving a little money there too.

The stock is full of nutrients and has fat in it, which makes it filling. 

Whole Foods gives me fish heads for free, but I only make fish stock in the spring or fall when the windows can be open!

I often make bread to go with the soup. Inexpensive and yummy and separate so I don’t have to eat it. Or I separate the soup before adding the grain to it. (I do ok with a few potatoes and with legumes, as long as I balance out my carbs overall in the day.)

[mum]

1 hour ago, KungFuPanda said:

The landscape business I work for sells firewood. Prices have gone up since I started in October. It’s nuts. With everyone home and burning extra wood last year, the supply of seasoned wood was so depleted that it’s been a scramble to get more. You can cut more wood, but it’s not going to be ready THIS year. We’re selling face cords of oak for $390 now. (We deliver to DC, so it’s a HCOL area.) When you put the labor shortage on top of that, it gets expensive. You can FIND free wood, but if you want a person to chop, season, and deliver to your area, or home, it gets expensive. 

Wait. I don’t know about collard trees. Do you start from seed? I’m doubling down on the perennial veggies and this gots my plan. 
 

Eta:  I must either be in a well-supplied area or just cook/shop differently. I’ve had no trouble getting everything I usually use. Occasionally they’ll be out of something and I’ll get it next time or from another store, but I haven’t seen tragically bare shelves for a while now. 

Collard trees are grown from transplants, which I guess is why they are rarer. I do see that they have them for sale in Territorial Seeds catalog. Once you have one they are super easy to take cuttings and grow more. So only buy one, even if you need more in the end. There’s a good video on how to prune tree collards at projecttreecollard.org. And you can google ‘how to take cuttings from tree collards’. I have a cutting growing on my windowsill. And in the spring I take multiple cuttings and grow them until they’re ready to transplant and then give them away on my buy nothing group. They always get snapped up!

[Clemsondana]

We grow/freeze a lot and buy pig and cow in bulk locally so this hasn't been as bad for us as it is for people who have to get everything at the store.  We got a greenhouse kit last year as part of a planned horticulture class I wanted to do and as a fun way for me to garden in the winter.  We dabbled to see what would grow, but next year have a plan for staging it so that I can harvest most of the year.  Seed is cheap and we found that lettuce and spinach grew well.  

We have also played around with what can be regrown - like, if you use the tops off of green onions you can put the bases in water to resprout, and even plant those in soil to reharvest the tops for weeks or months.  I was told that you can do the same with organic celery, and we've got a couple of celery bases regrowing.  It's not a fix, but it can help at the margins and might be fun for kids.  We've got a big bag of potting soil and often plant in cut-off milk jugs or coffee containers.  

But, yes...our stores are usually reasonably well stocked and certainly have plenty of food even if they are missing specific items, but between gas and food prices I can't imagine how this is hitting many people.  There are many 'blessing boxes' in our community and people try to keep them stocked with food and hope that it gets to those who need it.  

[Arcadia]

My local supermarkets are very well stocked. Chicken thighs or pork shoulder strips sometimes run out. My teens eat less once the weather turns colder so our grocery bill hasn’t gone up. 
What affects us more is gas utility bill which went from typically around $10 to now around $30. Our gas utility is a monopoly and they hiked the rates again recently.

Gas prices are always high in California so we pump gas mainly at Costco to save some money. Gas price at my nearby Costco is $4.19 today and that’s a good deal.

[Fritz]

22 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

YES!

I feel the exact same way. My family can adjust the budget (and we have done so) to accommodate the increases in fuel costs and food costs. But for the families who were just barely making it...how on earth can they manage? I mean I remember when my dh and I were newly married and our dd was born. I had grocery shopping down to a science. I knew exactly what I could afford and planned our whole menu around sales. I even figured sales tax as I made my shopping list each week. Money was THAT tight. I didn't waste anything. All leftovers were eaten. There have to be thousands of people in similar situations and how on earth can they manage? 

I mean groceries and fuel to get to work are not luxuries. They are necessities.

Agreed. As is true for gasoline as well.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gas-price-orange-county-los-angeles-county-record-high/

[Faith-manor]

17 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-16/u-s-kids-go-hungry-as-safety-net-ebbs-and-inflation-soars

ETA: article notes US babies with stunted growth from inadequate nutrition

I read that, and it breaks my heart! Anyone who says the USA is civilized or "developed" needs to remember that a lot of tech is just putting glitter on cow pies. Sigh.

[Faith-manor]

14 hours ago, mum said:

I’ve been expanding my food garden. If anyone in the US would like garden advice, a good place to go is your county master gardeners. They’ll have a website and contact info. They are so good at knowing what grows well where you live. Seed catalogs are fun, but not everything grows well everywhere. 

One of the most prolific plants for leafy greens is a collard tree. I had 4 last year and they would have fed a family of 6 easily. I had to give 2 whole trees away because we couldn’t eat the leaves fast enough. They’ll stand 100 degree heat all summer long. And here they produce all winter too (CA). It’s a tree, so plant it once and it lives for many years. 

And sometimes the 4H master gardener programs have free seeds and seedlings. Some master gardeners help start community garden plots, so it is definitely worth a trip to the extension office to find out what options they have.

[Faith-manor]

If you enjoy bean sprouts and alpaca sprouts, you can grow those in jars indoors. They make nice additions to salads and sandwiches. 

[Faith-manor]

3 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

My most economical meals that are also healthy and work for my food limitations are soups/stews.  I buy beef bones inexpensively from local farmers and use roaster chx carcasses to make stock. I got 5 batches in my 7qt crock pot from our TG turkey! Homemade stock is easy, inexpensive, and healthy! SO much better than store bought!!! 

I use the ends, peelings, and trimmings of veggies that otherwise would be compost- celery, onion, carrots, and whatever else I have- for some of the veggies, saving a little money there too.

The stock is full of nutrients and has fat in it, which makes it filling. 

Whole Foods gives me fish heads for free, but I only make fish stock in the spring or fall when the windows can be open!

I often make bread to go with the soup. Inexpensive and yummy and separate so I don’t have to eat it. Or I separate the soup before adding the grain to it. (I do ok with a few potatoes and with legumes, as long as I balance out my carbs overall in the day.)

Dh has taken up bread making, and makes bread bowls for my stews and chilli. Super duper filling for the three twenty something boys who need to keep their calorie counts up, and hollow legs filled. They can be done with any whole wheat bread recipe, and ones that call for sesame or poppy seeds are nice, sometimes he adds dehydrated onion.

[Corraleno]

2 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

If you enjoy bean sprouts and alpaca sprouts, you can grow those in jars indoors. They make nice additions to salads and sandwiches. 

That's a very funny visual! 

 

[Faith-manor]

15 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

That's a very funny visual! 

 

I am so tired of my Kindle autocorrect!!! 😡

I will leave it so everyone can have a laugh! 😀

[Sneezyone]

4 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

I’m doubling down on the perennial veggies

Same, plus perennial herbs. Thyme, oregano, rosemary, and lavender can overwinter outside here. I'm planting fennel, okra (not a perennial but pretty in landscaping), wild strawberry (mostly for the rabbits and squirrels, I'm afraid), collard greens (which also overwinter here). The annuals will go in the raised bed and get some protection from my furry neighbors.