Good food is getting too expensive

Produce is pricey now, and unfortunately, it's only going to get worse. Currently, at my store (I'm the perishable manager at a large grocery store chain.) grapes are $2.99/lb and strawberries are $4.99/lb. With the rain and in some cases unseasonable weather, growers are having trouble getting their crops in. Couple that with rising transportation costs, and you get the situation we all find ourselves in now.

Citrus is even going to be impacted to some extent with the weather the southern states saw this week!

I also learned this week that bananas usually take eleven weeks to grow, but due to weather conditions will start taking closer to sixteen, causing shortages (and, unfortunately, price increases).

Stock up on what's in season. And blueberries! Which are currently the only berry growers have plenty of!

As for meat, watch the sale ads for the stores in your area! The front page items tend to be at (or sometimes even below) current market cost. :flowerforyou:

Unfortunately, buying fresh fruit out of season is likely to be much more expensive. I've heard frozen fruit can be pretty reasonably priced... obviously you won't find things like Grapes frozen (I don't think so?), but you can probably find mango, pineapple, berries, etc. Also, try shopping around at other stores you may not typically go to - our health/organic store (Sprouts - not sure which states they're in) actually will have better deals on a lot of fresh (non-organic) veggies than the regular grocery store.

For meats, look for "managers specials" - meats that are nearing their sell-by date that is perfectly good but they've reduced the price on to sell it quicker. Also, stores frequently have sales/specials on one type of meat or another. My local regular grocery store has had packs of skinless, boneless chicken breasts at 1.99/lb the past few times I've been there, which is pretty darn good (and cheaper than the frozen chicken breasts you can buy in the bags). When you find something at a great price, stock up if you can.

It takes longer, but it's worth shopping around, watching for deals, cutting cupons, etc. - can make a big difference in your wallet.

whoa. any farmer's markets nearby? or um, perhaps hit the store during their sale hours? tuesday mornings were good in my grocery store in redondo, but sometimes choosing the off hours when people don't often go saves you bucks. worst prices after work or on weekends I've noted. And coupon clip! it pays!

For me, I take advantage of my local farmers markets and I try to spend my money on only the necessities and less indulgences.

]

On the up side.... when you eat less, your grocery bills go down.

My grocery bills are down by half!

Also, something even better... my spring bulbs are already coming up... the sun isn't totally down by the time I leave work... summer's coming!!!!!

I'm in England so it may be different however I try to buy as much of my fruit, veg and meat from my local market. There are always stalls selling big bowls of fruit and veg for £1 a bowl so I can stock up for a week for under £10. There are great fishmongers and butchers at the market too with much better quality meat than what I would get at teh supermarket. I can also ask them to do things like remove all the fat/skin of the fish etc and I've found they are always willing to help you choose a cheaper cut for what you are making.

Whilst I am not a fan of gardening I want to start planting some of my own vegetables, I know I won't be able to replace all my shopping with home grown but it will reduce the costs over the summer/autumn months.

Whilst I have cut back a lot on the bread I eat I still enjoy it now and again and with 2 children and a husband who like toast/sandwiches etc there was always a loaf open to tempt me. Now, using a bread machine, I make my own loaves most days, the size that they make is usually enough to make toast in the mornings and sandwiches for my husbands lunch at work without too much left for me to snack on. Also I can control what goes into it, salt etc. As most loaves are now £1.20-£1.70 at teh supermarket it works out as a lot cheaper too and fresh bread is always much nicer than the plastic wrapped stuff!

Finally, as someone else has said, vouchers are fantastic! Yes I am one of those people who when paying will pull loads of vouchers out of her purse! Check online ones, ones in local papers/magazines and if the store has a "point collecting card" take it each time it soon adds up and can give you big discounts off a shop. One of my local supermarkets allows you to buy "saver stamps" which you keep for Christmas, depending on how many you buy you will also get some free. This Christmas our food shop should have cost over £80 (we bought lots of luxuries) but after deducting the vouchers it came to a total of £40 and then I had £50 of saver stamps so the cupboards were full and we still had £10 left over!

I agree with shopping the sales. $4.75 for grapes is ridiculous when a sale will have them down to 99 cents a lb.

ETA: Also for those wanting to learn about couponing, there's tons of good blogs: southersavers.com, dealseekingmom.com, thekrazycouponlady.com, afullcup.com, totallytarget.com.... i can go on. lol.

Here's what I do:

*Like others said, coupons is the way to go. Between all my stores, I can typically get all my household, HBA, paper etc products free or close to it with sales and coupons. That way I have more for the expensive things.

*Shop the sales. For example, Better Oats is on sale this week at my Kroger for $1 a box. I plan to get 10-15 boxes to last me until they go on sale again. If I find something that I use regularly (another poster mentioned the zone bars) I stock up so I know I have enough until they go on sale again.

*For produce, I stock up when its on sale and freeze it so I have it to last a while. Peaches went on sale for .68/lb at Kroger in the fall and I stocked up and froze most of them. I also buy frozen straw/blueberries since they are cheaper per lb than fresh right now.

*For meat, I go first thing Monday morning after I get my kids on the bus and they most always have tons marked down. If not, I wait for my chicken to go on sale for $1.79/lb or less and stock up. I learn whats a good sale at the stores I shop at most and stock up when they go that price or better, that way I don't get stuck paying $3/lb or more for meat.

I typically do this for my usual groceries anyhow. This week Kroger is having a good mega sale with certain things on sale like canned veggies for .49 each and sobe life water/propel for .49 each also. I tend to stock up at these sales and it gets me by for a while.

walmart has lowered their prices I also like the club stores I go to BJ's.....its all about being creative...

I have said that to myself many times, and think I have used that as an excuse to not buy it!!! We found Aldi's. We can go there and buy selected fruit and veggies at a very good price, much cheaper than the regular grocery store. They have a lot of good healthy food - just be sure to check the labels. We are on a very tight budget, but are able to eat pretty good when shopping there!! I would check it out, hope this helps!!