supermarket shelves and food prices

[Melissa in Australia]

I cannot find the other thread so though I would start a new one.

 Meat is getting expensive here. Mince beef is close to $19 kg. The supermarket had Wagyu for $99.99 kg - who would buy it?? somebody must but boy that is a lot of money for meat . 

they did have a sale on chicken drumsticks though - less than $3kg. haven't seen it that low for a very long time. That might be because our area has been flooded out though with no power for 36 hours. Once before when there were floods and power outages chicken was marked down because everyone was madly eating out their freezers.

 

 

[Carrie12345]

Ground beef isn’t that high by me, but it there’s also a wide range.
A small pack of 93% lean is currently $5.99lb, but a giant pack of 80% lean is on sale for $3.99/lb.  I have zero need for fancy cow, lol.

I did just grab some drumsticks for $.99/lb., on sale. The website won’t show me what the non-sale price is though. I don’t buy them very often because I don’t like them. The kids do.

Milk is currently $4.77/gallon, which is high for my area. It varies so much by state!
And eggs are $2.89 for a dozen, which is SO far from our norm.  Actually, they’re showing as $2.68 at my Walmart, where a 60-count is now $13. I used to get 60-counts for somewhere in the $5 range.  I was complaining about them being $8-9 only a week or two ago!

[Pawz4me]

5 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

 

Milk is currently $4.77/gallon, which is high for my area. It varies so much by state!

It amazes me how much milk prices vary. I need lactose free milk, so I usually buy Fair Life. But I just looked on the Walmart app and a gallon of their store brand regular whole milk is $1.37 here.

[Carrie12345]

2 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

It amazes me how much milk prices vary. I need lactose free milk, so I usually buy Fair Life. But I just looked on the Walmart app and a gallon of their store brand regular whole milk is $1.37 here.

😱😱😱

I can’t even. 

[MEmama]

This past weekend I went to the grocery store for the first time since January. Both (Whole Foods and Trader Joes) were pretty normally stocked, no discernible holes from what I could tell. I went to our local grocery yesterday and same thing, all the shelves looked full and normal. Prices are noticeably higher, of course; it seemed to me that items across the board were 1$ more than a few months ago.

Oh, our local grocery was out of our almond milk, but it’s nbd. We bought a few aseptic containers until it’s back in stock/restocked.

[HomeAgain]

We spent $160 on 3 days' worth of meals here.  3 days!!! Everything seems to have gone up so much this year.

Dh and I gave up for the time being.  We set up Hello Fresh for the next week.  5 meals for $120, but it means we're going to the store less and only have to worry about two dinners: Easter and a birthday.  I already have the ingredients for Easter dessert (lemon bars this year), and it'll probably be a light meal of seasonal grilled veggies, chicken, salad, and rice pilaf.  There'll be a cheese & fruit plate for game night after. So that leaves the birthday, and whatever they want that night.

It is so frustrating to shop.  This week the store was out of crunchy peanut butter, all frozen potatoes, and a few other small things.  However, dh was able to find jicama, so new things are making it to the shelves here.  I'm planning on making a jicama and apple slaw to go with some grilled pork chops.

[wintermom]

All y'all from the US, just know that your 'regular' food and gas prices are insanely cheap. Your compaints just highlights this fact. 

PSA from the rest of the world. 😅

[MEmama]

3 minutes ago, wintermom said:

All y'all from the US, just know that your 'regular' food and gas prices are insanely cheap. Your compaints just highlights this fact. 

PSA from the rest of the world. 😅

Gas, yes, food it depends. Compared to Canada, yes—we used to go grocery shopping in the US when we lived in New Brunswick, it was very common for people to do.

But compared to much of Europe, the price difference the other way is astounding. DS sometimes send us his grocery lists and it’s comical how little he spends. And the quality there is so much higher than in North America, overall.

[wintermom]

3 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Gas, yes, food it depends. Compared to Canada, yes—we used to go grocery shopping in the US when we lived in New Brunswick, it was very common for people to do.

But compared to much of Europe, the price difference the other way is astounding. DS sometimes send us his grocery lists and it’s comical how little he spends. And the quality there is so much higher than in North America, overall.

How long ago did you live in NB? You bring it up all the time as if it was yesterday. Prices have changed in the last 10 years. There are lots of people near the boarder that go across to shop in the US for groceries. 

Edited April 7, 2022 by wintermom

[Ausmumof3]

Not crazy still? Some stuff is. $4 a lettuce. Fuel has dropped nicely with the government excise being lowered. Deodorant was the one thing that gave me sticker shock but I normally buy when it’s half price so that might just be the normal price.

[Carrie12345]

27 minutes ago, wintermom said:

All y'all from the US, just know that your 'regular' food and gas prices are insanely cheap. Your compaints just highlights this fact. 

PSA from the rest of the world. 😅

If we didn’t have to pay obscene amounts for health care, our “cheap” food would hurt less!!!

[TheReader]

Here in a suburb of Houston, things are getting back to almost start of the pandemic levels.  

Prices are going up on lots of things -- some canned chili I buy was usually approx. $5 for a 4-pack of cans (and this is the store brand); it's now nearly $8 for the same pack.   The kids' pre-packaged treats for their D&D gang have gone from 2/$4 to 2/$5 (and I haven't bought them in a little while, so maybe they are more now).  Bread (and again, store brand) is likewise up from 2/$4 to 2/$5.  

I haven't noticed meat, b/c we do have a deep freeze, so just buy whatever is on sale, whenever we can find it. A few times/month we're able to be there when the meat dept has put out that day's/week's "25% off if you buy it right now" (but you need to use it/freeze it that day, which we do) so we've stayed well stocked.....definitely less beef, though, and more other things, and we're incorporating more meatless meals into our routine.  Even with all of that, though, the grocery bill hasn't dropped at all -- these measures have let us keep on at the same/ish budget.  If we hadn't adapted our shopping, costs would be through the roof. 

Shelves are also starting to have more empty spaces again; last week we could not find whole wheat hotdog buns, at all.  Today we need toilet paper, and I'm half-worried there won't be any (though those shelves haven't been lacking usually). Sometimes we've had "bread - 4 loaves" on our list and only been able to get one or two loaves, b/c of supply.  Last week they were out of DH's coffee creamer; the week before, no gallon jugs of the lactose free milk (in any brand). 

I honestly don't know how people do it, who aren't able to stock up when things are there, don't have the space to store things, don't have the time/ability to meal plan based on what is there, can't adjust/adapt....it's getting difficult for us, and we have a lot of wiggle room. I can't imagine folks who don't. 

[Carrie12345]

1 minute ago, TheReader said:

I honestly don't know how people do it, who aren't able to stock up when things are there, don't have the space to store things, don't have the time/ability to meal plan based on what is there, can't adjust/adapt....it's getting difficult for us, and we have a lot of wiggle room. I can't imagine folks who don't.

I am super worried about my long-distance family. It occupies a lot of my mental space.  It’s not like I can be all, “Hey, dinner at my place a few times a week!” 😞 

[TheReader]

3 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

I am super worried about my long-distance family. It occupies a lot of my mental space.  It’s not like I can be all, “Hey, dinner at my place a few times a week!” 😞 

Same; my mom and my sister both are on limited/fixed incomes and I am not sure what all I can do. I may start sending Walmart or other grocery gift cards, as I'm able. 

[Meriwether]

3 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

 

Milk is currently $4.77/gallon, which is high for my area. It varies so much by state!
 

I buy milk 4 gallons at a time and average about 7 gallons per week. One of my sons drinks about half of that. Milk fluctuates between $2.00 and $3.00. Lately it has been between $2.00 and $2.20 at Aldi. At the grocery store where my older son works, milk is about $5. I don't know who would pay that if they could buy it so much cheaper elsewhere.

[Carrie12345]

1 minute ago, Meriwether said:

I buy milk 4 gallons at a time and average about 7 gallons per week. One of my sons drinks about half of that. Milk fluctuates between $2.00 and $3.00. Lately it has been between $2.00 and $2.20 at Aldi. At the grocery store where my older son works, milk is about $5. I don't know who would pay that if they could buy it so much cheaper elsewhere.

That’s just plain ridiculous!  The difference between my regular grocery store and Walmart is 17 cents.  Not sure about Aldi right now, but they’ve definitely stayed just under, but near, everyone else in the past.

I used to feel like I was paying too much for local raw milk at $5/gallon. I wonder what it’s going for now.
One local lady is still selling her chicken eggs for 2 doz/$5.  That beats the stores right now. I should probably get on that!

[rutheart]

Between Kroger pickup and Market Wagon, I'm paying $400-500 per week for groceries for the four of us. We have so many allergies and dietary restrictions that it's crazy (to the point that when my medical insurance paid for a nutritionist, the nutritionist said she couldn't help me). Groceries have always been a big chunk of our budget.

Chicken here is about $17 for 1.5lb, when it's available. Ground beef is still $6/lb. I'm paying $8.10 for a half gallon of milk, but it comes in a glass container so it tastes MUCH better than cardboard or plastic. It's extravagant, but it's like a taste of childhood.

[MEmama]

53 minutes ago, wintermom said:

How long ago did you live in NB? You bring it up all the time as if it was yesterday. Prices have changed in the last 10 years. There are lots of people near the boarder that go across to shop in the US for groceries. 

10 years ago 🙂 Prices have changed a lot here too though? 
Sorry if I offended you somehow!

 

 

Edited April 7, 2022 by MEmama

[prairiewindmomma]

If I go to the local butcher and buy grass fed local beef, my prices are right where yours are, Melissa, or more.

If I go to Walmart (national chain) and I buy the cheapest stuff there, which is imported into this part of the US, this morning the prices for ground beef are:

80/20: $5.14/lb = $11.31/kg

90/10: $6.12/lb= $13.46/kg

At Costco last night, the organic eggs were $6.99/dozen.  If I buy them from the farmer's market here, they are averaging $8/dozen. The least expensive non-organic eggs at Walmart currently are $1.55/dozen, which is the cheapest prices I've seen in months. Organic cage free at Walmart are $5.74/dozen, pasture raised are $5.48/dozen, and organic free range are $7.30/dozen.

Lactose free milk here is $3.24/half gallon when they have it, but when they don't have fresh (which is more often than I would like), I have to pay $2.97/32 oz/946mL for Parmalat lactose free.  If the stores don't have any lactose free, I go to the local farm to buy milk, which comes vat pasteurized in a glass container, and they've raised prices to $5.50/half gallon. (Dd won't drink soy or almond or oat or rice milk.)

Edited April 7, 2022 by prairiewindmomma

[Home'scool]

Food prices are out of control, shelves are empty, gas prices ridiculous, people's 401K's are tanking ...... but at least there were no mean tweets at 3:00 am.😒

Edited April 7, 2022 by Home'scool

[prairiewindmomma]

I think it’s going to be a bumpy year for the world between the global fertilizer shortage, increased decoupling of the global supply chain (which will hopefully eventually improve resilience?), the impact of continued climate change influenced/driven natural disasters (floods and droughts alike), and everything else.

 

[JustEm]

Right now, I only buy meat when it is on sale and just stock the freezer.  Drumsticks are regularly on sale for 99 cents/lb, if I go to the restaurant depot sometimes they are 79 cents/ pound but sold in 40 lb boxes.  boneless skinless chicken thighs are $1.89/lb there, also sold in 40lb boxes. Ground turkey is $2.66/lb. 

Beef is too expensive to even consider buying it regularly.  Ground beef is the cheapest at about $3.50/lb but I don't like ground beef so I just use ground turkey instead.  Unless we're having burgers which is once a month.

With Easter coming up there may be sales next week on ham and chuck roasts so I'll stock up on those if the price is reasonable. We'll see

Other than that we eat vegetarian because bean are still relatively cheap

[Selkie]

2 hours ago, hjffkj said:

Other than that we eat vegetarian because bean are still relatively cheap

Yes, hooray for inexpensive beans! We just restocked the main food items we eat (various kinds of beans, lentils, split peas, whole grains) and I was relieved to still be able to get a large quantity of food for a reasonable price.

Produce expenses are up a bit for us, but not really for the other items we eat. Nuts and seeds are the pricier foods we buy, but I haven't seen much of a price jump for them.

[Faith-manor]

We are at about $5.00 per lb for chicken breast (there are 2.2 lbs in Kg so for our friends that is roughly $11), and similar cuts of meat except wings. I think that is because local producers are being hammered with bird flu. Eggs are up as well.

Ground beef (Mince in other countries) is for really fatty stuff $5.00 per lb ($11 per Kg). Other cuts of beef are higher. A good cut of roast is north of $8 lb/$16-17 Kg.

Produce is getting more expensive, and the supply is spotty, quality down. It seems like when it finally arrives at the supermarket it is already really old. I am doing a lot more with frozen veg and fruit.

Milk is also only two days away from it's expiration when it arrives, and is not marked down.

[Lilaclady]

Avian flu is raging and will affect the price of chicken and eggs too. The stock market has been doing quite well so i Don’t know of 401k’a tanking 

[madteaparty]

5 hours ago, wintermom said:

All y'all from the US, just know that your 'regular' food and gas prices are insanely cheap. Your compaints just highlights this fact. 

PSA from the rest of the world. 😅

Hmm, I used to shop mostly at Lidl’s when in France (a discount shop much like Aldi) and did not notice a tremendous difference between US prices. If I went to the regular grocery store then yes but that’s like comparing it to Whole Foods. 
EtA that my regular grocery store was totally out of whole organic milk last night, any brand. That was weird but the push I need to drive over to the farm

Edited April 7, 2022 by madteaparty

[regentrude]

5 hours ago, wintermom said:

All y'all from the US, just know that your 'regular' food and gas prices are insanely cheap. Your compaints just highlights this fact. 

PSA from the rest of the world. 😅

Gas, I agree. Food - that entirely depends on the kind of food. Beef certainly is much, much cheaper in the US than in Germany. But good cheese is ridiculously expensive here. I don't mean the plasticky blocks of American cheese - I mean real cheese. At the US Aldi, I pay $2.49 for an 8 oz ball of Mozzarella that costs me 0.59 Euro at the German Aldi. If I bought it at the US Kroger, I'd have to pay $4.
And forget about cheeses the discount stores don't carry; they're absurd.
Same is true for dairy products like yogurt, good bread (not the Wonderbread crap), many veggies.

I travel back home each year, and I am always astonished how little I have to pay for groceries there compared to the US - even though I shop at higher end grocery stores in Germany than I do here.
 

[kbutton]

8 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

Milk is currently $4.77/gallon, which is high for my area. It varies so much by state!

In SW Ohio we are just now starting to pay what we paid for milk in PA thirty plus years ago, and often it’s on sale for less. 

[saraha]

Quarterly I go with a friend who has a vendors listened to a restaurant supply store, not Sams or Gordon’s, but the kind where the guys walking around shopping are wearing their chef’s whites. Anyway, I thought you might find prices and shortages interesting. Obviously not a comprehensive list but what I noticed or bought

#10 cans of fruit and vegetables up 50% from $6 something to $9 something a can

#10 cans of beans up $1 from $5ish to $6ish

dried beans and rice only being sold in 50 pound bags or larger, no 25 lb bags

Paper plates up from $28 dollars for 1200 to $34

All frozen seafood up several dollars no matter size or kind

Veggie burgers up from $80 for 100 to $104

Cheese up less than $1 per 5 lbs. Absolutely no sour cream in any size or brand and they usually have it even in 5 gallon buckets too, but none at all

Chicken quarters $.99 lb, wings $1.99 lb but at least they had some, last two times I went they didn’t have any, legs/thighs $2.99 lb, boneless breasts $3.99 lb, no bone in breasts. These prices are a huge mark up. I regularly bought boneless breasts for $1.59 lb

Pork loin had only gone up 30 cents to $1.69 lb

Goat was up $10 a side

There was no salad, usually they sold huge bags of various chopped salads, you could only find the ingredients to make salads sold whole.

this is obviously not a comprehensive list as I didn’t check beef prices or frozen meat prices, just kind of ran off a few observations and our receipts. This was in SW Ohio

[wintermom]

1 hour ago, madteaparty said:

Hmm, I used to shop mostly at Lidl’s when in France (a discount shop much like Aldi) and did not notice a tremendous difference between US prices. If I went to the regular grocery store then yes but that’s like comparing it to Whole Foods. 
EtA that my regular grocery store was totally out of whole organic milk last night, any brand. That was weird but the push I need to drive over to the farm

I believe that a PP quoted some prices that were very low, and also said that it varies widely from state to state. However, the US also has very different regulations in food and dairy production industry that other place don't, which cause our prices to be higher. Your cheap food does come at a cost, and when you alter the production methods to mirror other countries, the cost goes up.

[vonfirmath]

I found a neat youtube showing people how to make meals with less money (though even here you can see costs going up. This is 45 meal portions for $20. The last time she did it -- a year ago -- she made 60 meal portions for $22)

 

 

[mommyoffive]

10 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

😱😱😱

I can’t even. 

I know!  Mine isn't as high as yours.  $3.69 in our town.  But I have people here who drink milk like water.  Ugh.

[vonfirmath]

5 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

I know!  Mine isn't as high as yours.  $3.69 in our town.  But I have people here who drink milk like water.  Ugh.

I've had to limit milk drinking. They can have one glass with a meal but if they are still thirsty, there is water to drink afterward.

[mommyoffive]

Just now, vonfirmath said:

I've had to limit milk drinking. They can have one glass with a meal but if they are still thirsty, there is water to drink afterward.

I do that too.  Works for kids, not for dh!  🙂

[vonfirmath]

Just now, mommyoffive said:

I do that too.  Works for kids, not for dh!  🙂

Ah-yeah. DH can be harder.

[madteaparty]

2 hours ago, wintermom said:

I believe that a PP quoted some prices that were very low, and also said that it varies widely from state to state. However, the US also has very different regulations in food and dairy production industry that other place don't, which cause our prices to be higher. Your cheap food does come at a cost, and when you alter the production methods to mirror other countries, the cost goes up.

I have really very little patience for when we talk about the US as a whole, and even less being lectured as to what happens in other countries. First, I don’t buy cheap food, and I live in the US. Second, as you can see here, there’s tremendous variation region to region in the US. The only thing I will say is certain is that champagne is more expensive here 🤣

[73349]

Supply is fine here; prices are high.

Seven dollars a pound for lentils the other day. More than a dollar a pound for what used to be cheap staples like potatoes and popcorn kernels.

Yet somehow a whole chicken was less than $11. (I know how. The wrong things are being subsidized.)

[Selkie]

16 minutes ago, 73349 said:

Seven dollars a pound for lentils the other day. More than a dollar a pound for what used to be cheap staples like potatoes and popcorn kernels.

Yikes. If you are looking for reasonably priced lentils, check on Palousebrand.com, Amazon, Vitacost.com, Walmart.com, or Nuts.com. All have lentils at way cheaper than $7/lb, even including shipping.

[73349]

1 minute ago, Selkie said:

Yikes. If you are looking for reasonably priced lentils, check on Palousebrand.com, Amazon, Vitacost.com, Walmart.com, or Nuts.com. All have lentils at way cheaper than $7/lb, even including shipping.

Lentils and beans are more often than not contaminated with barley or wheat, so I need ones that are explicitly marked gluten-free. That has been an issue multiple times when I've ordered them, including from Vitacost. Nuts.com's gf lentils do not include red ones, which were what I was buying. Amazon had the brand I buy for $9/lb. the day I was shopping, even worse than in the store. Thank you for mentioning Palousebrand.com--I'd never heard of it--but their red lentils are not marked gf, and they do sell wheat, so I would assume cc. Walmart.com does have a better price for the ones I buy; I may shop there next time, even if I have to buy 6lbs.

[Selkie]

3 minutes ago, 73349 said:

Lentils and beans are more often than not contaminated with barley or wheat, so I need ones that are explicitly marked gluten-free. That has been an issue multiple times when I've ordered them, including from Vitacost. Nuts.com's gf lentils do not include red ones, which were what I was buying. Amazon had the brand I buy for $9/lb. the day I was shopping, even worse than in the store. Thank you for mentioning Palousebrand.com--I'd never heard of it--but their red lentils are not marked gf, and they do sell wheat, so I would assume cc. Walmart.com does have a better price for the ones I buy; I may shop there next time, even if I have to buy 6lbs.

Ooh yeah, gf makes it harder. I checked my bags of Palouse lentils and it says "Cleaned in a facility that also cleans wheat".

[HomeAgain]

Yesterday I picked up 4 ingredients we forgot earlier this week:

• 2 limes
• 5 ears of corn
• Thai chili peppers
• A gallon of milk

The total cost was $20 and some change.  Had it been last year, it would have been around $8 at most.  The price of limes had more than doubled to nearly $1 each, the corn was outrageous, and the milk was at least a dollar more than we used to pay.  I'm really missing Texas prices where limes were about $.10 -.15 and there's a wide range of chilis to choose from!

[Faith-manor]

29 minutes ago, HomeAgain said:

Yesterday I picked up 4 ingredients we forgot earlier this week:

• 2 limes
• 5 ears of corn
• Thai chili peppers
• A gallon of milk

The total cost was $20 and some change.  Had it been last year, it would have been around $8 at most.  The price of limes had more than doubled to nearly $1 each, the corn was outrageous, and the milk was at least a dollar more than we used to pay.  I'm really missing Texas prices where limes were about $.10 -.15 and there's a wide range of chilis to choose from!

Ouch!

Peppers that aren't bell are getting very expensive here, and we have never had much of a variety either. So it is really frustrating to pay an outrageous price while having so little to choose from. At this point I can get bell peppers, mini bell peppers, and jalapenos. That is it. Sigh. I haven't priced limes. Lemons are $2.00 each.

Does anyone have a dwarf lemon tree as a houseplant? I have seen them in nursery catalogs and wondered how many lemons they produce and if they are finicky to keep. 

[Ausmumof3]

1 hour ago, HomeAgain said:

Yesterday I picked up 4 ingredients we forgot earlier this week:

• 2 limes
• 5 ears of corn
• Thai chili peppers
• A gallon of milk

The total cost was $20 and some change.  Had it been last year, it would have been around $8 at most.  The price of limes had more than doubled to nearly $1 each, the corn was outrageous, and the milk was at least a dollar more than we used to pay.  I'm really missing Texas prices where limes were about $.10 -.15 and there's a wide range of chilis to choose from!

Ouch that is similar prices to here only our dollar value is lower and minimum wage higher so in real terms it would be quite a bit more 

[wintermom]

15 hours ago, madteaparty said:

I have really very little patience for when we talk about the US as a whole, and even less being lectured as to what happens in other countries. First, I don’t buy cheap food, and I live in the US. Second, as you can see here, there’s tremendous variation region to region in the US. The only thing I will say is certain is that champagne is more expensive here 🤣

I wasn't lecturing. Just pointing out the differences in countries, and how this affects prices. Apart from cheaper gas and food, the most other western countries have much higher taxes, so we've got less money after-taxes to buy our expensive gas and food.

Unless you've lived outside of the US, and actually understand what this means on a daily and yearly basis, you can perhaps take our push-back with a little more grace.

[Serenade]

On 4/7/2022 at 6:08 AM, Pawz4me said:

It amazes me how much milk prices vary. I need lactose free milk, so I usually buy Fair Life. But I just looked on the Walmart app and a gallon of their store brand regular whole milk is $1.37 here.

Wow!  I'm in Hillsborough, and a gallon of Walmart milk was $3.80 on Tuesday, almost three times as much!  Do you have Aldi or Lidl nearby?  It seems to me that milk prices go down when one of these stores open up nearby.  A few summers ago we found milk for $1.00 a gallon in Winston-Salem where a Walmart, Lidl and Aldi were all in close proximity. An Aldi is under construction now in Hillsborough, across from the Walmart, so I hope we'll see some benefit there.

Edited April 8, 2022 by Serenade

[Serenade]

On 4/7/2022 at 9:07 AM, TheReader said:

 

I haven't noticed meat, b/c we do have a deep freeze, so just buy whatever is on sale, whenever we can find it. A few times/month we're able to be there when the meat dept has put out that day's/week's "25% off if you buy it right now" (but you need to use it/freeze it that day, which we do) so we've stayed well stocked.....definitely less beef, though, and more other things, and we're incorporating more meatless meals into our routine.  Even with all of that, though, the grocery bill hasn't dropped at all -- these measures have let us keep on at the same/ish budget.  If we hadn't adapted our shopping, costs would be through the roof. 

 

We've had to make a lot of adjustments, too, to sort of keep on the same budget.  Although I don't know how much longer I can keep the budget down. 

[Clemsondana]

I've been to regional chain and Trader Joes both in the past 10 days.  Trader Joes looked pretty normal - there's always something missing, but if you go in the afternoon they're always stocking so that doesn't mean much.  The free-range boneless skinless chicken breasts were $7.99/lb, which is in line with what they've cost for years - this is the most expensive of the chicken options.  Regional chain still doesn't have my preferred frozen version in stock and hasn't for a while, but the section for that brand has plenty of the heat-and-serve nuggets and wings that I use - they've gone up $2/1.5 lb bag over the past 6 months.  Milk from the more expensive regional dairy is holding steady but TJs seems to be up but is not more than regional dairy.  Macadamia nuts at TJs have gone up $1 after costing the same thing for a couple of years.  Alas, that was never inexpensive.  🙂 

I think these price increases are hard on everybody but especially hit people who don't know how to cook with substitutions and without following a recipe very closely.  I had not realized how many people I know in that category until the great grocery shortage of 2020, when people were posting about not being able to get what they needed.  Recently at TJs turkey breast was a lot less than chicken, and is fine for sandwiches or subbing in some soups or casseroles.  I do bulk orders from Naturally a Deal, which deals with food overstocks.  You never know what they'll have (sometimes nothing that I need), but recently I got a deal on chicken legs.  They aren't my favorite, but they work fine for making stock and then using in soup so I've been using them for that.  I'm hvaving to guestimate when a recipe calls for 6 chicken breasts and I'm using legs, but it's working out fine.  

[Pawz4me]

1 hour ago, Serenade said:

Wow!  I'm in Hillsborough, and a gallon of Walmart milk was $3.80 on Tuesday, almost three times as much!  Do you have Aldi or Lidl nearby?  It seems to me that milk prices go down when one of these stores open up nearby.  A few summers ago we found milk for $1.00 a gallon in Winston-Salem where a Walmart, Lidl and Aldi were all in close proximity. An Aldi is under construction now in Hillsborough, across from the Walmart, so I hope we'll see some benefit there.

Yes, there's a Lidl across the street from WM, and an Aldi a couple of miles away. And yes, I'm in the W-S area. 

[Ting Tang]

On 4/7/2022 at 7:38 AM, wintermom said:

All y'all from the US, just know that your 'regular' food and gas prices are insanely cheap. Your compaints just highlights this fact. 

PSA from the rest of the world. 😅

I don't know how it works elsewhere, but it is because it is subsidized.  We also have parts of the country where agriculture is very good, so maybe that helps control costs.  

[madteaparty]

2 hours ago, wintermom said:

I wasn't lecturing. Just pointing out the differences in countries, and how this affects prices. Apart from cheaper gas and food, the most other western countries have much higher taxes, so we've got less money after-taxes to buy our expensive gas and food.

Unless you've lived outside of the US, and actually understand what this means on a daily and yearly basis, you can perhaps take our push-back with a little more grace.

You don’t know anything about the audience you are lecturing to. I have spent most my life outside the US with the majority of it outside of what you’d call “the west”.