Grocery prices are super high these days.

[boomchakabowwow]

dang..I get bummed buying food. I try to cut corners. I have reduced my coffee-store shopping down 95%. buying a cup of Joe, from a Barista is a rare treat.

I have cut back on eating meat. but even Veggies are wildly expensive.

granted my nearest neighborhood grocery store is on the Boojie side of things. I just bought the veggies for Corned beef sides, a package of tortillas and a Coffee for $25. hahaha..

thankfully I walked to the store!! saved me gas.

you all seeing high prices? noticeably?

 

[Towerguy]

Yes. Pre-Biden my trips to the grocery were $75 or under. Now, they run $120 or higher.

 

[aporigine]

Yes. Pre-Biden my trips to the grocery were $75 or under. Now, they run $120 or higher.

correlation ≠ causation.
On topic, butter is 135% what it was before Covid. Ground beef 160%. Beer — (breaks down and sobs)

 

[Rideon66]

Yes. Pre-Biden my trips to the grocery were $75 or under. Now, they run $120 or higher.

Prices are high due to corporate greed allowed under previous administrations policies and artificially inflated because of how badly COVID was handled under the previous administration. This is also the effect of trickle down it doesn’t work. Just makes the rich richer.

 

[Lars]

It's been a couple of very expensive years around here, energy prices went up as well..

 

[Corradobrit1]

I see this thread getting locked very quick. Let's leave the politics out of the discussion. Nothing good comes of it especially in this climate.

 

[Matus]

Yes. Pre-Biden my trips to the grocery were $75 or under. Now, they run $120 or higher.

You have no idea how the groceries went up since my pre-marriage times.

Please find non-political references for further discussion, thank you.

 

[boomchakabowwow]

That was unexpected. Sorry.

 

[BillHanna]

Covid changed the way I ordered groceries; I now do it through an app. It’s interesting watching prices fluctuate month to month.

Bacon. Bacon got kinda ridiculous. I’d say the price increased 50% over a year. It has gone back down, though.

 

[1dog]

not only are they getting more expensive but the 'portions' are getting smaller too. local store used to have a 6 pack of Scott paper towels for $5 and it got cut down to 4 for $5

 

[RickH]

Covid changed the way I ordered groceries; I now do it through an app. It’s interesting watching prices fluctuate month to month.

Bacon. Bacon got kinda ridiculous. I’d say the price increased 50% over a year. It has gone back down, though.

Yeah, like eggs. Where I am, eggs are way down.

 

[gentiscid]

Groceries is still affordable, but housing…

 

[Corradobrit1]

At least the bank savings rates are way up. 2 years ago I couldn't find a high street bank in Germany to open a savings account thanks to negative interest. I eventually found an online CD paying a measly 1% interest if I locked in for 2 years. For the past year I've been getting 5+% percent with easy access. That makes the cost of living increases a little easier to bare. Savers have been royally shafted since 2008.

 

[nhb22]

I told my wife the knives I buy keep me more interested in cooking at home and we save so much from not going out for food which totally justifies my knife spending. Not sure if this is causation or correlation, but she bought it!

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Prices are high due to corporate greed allowed under previous administrations policies and artificially inflated because of how badly COVID was handled under the previous administration. This is also the effect of trickle down it doesn’t work. Just makes the rich richer.

I work for a major corporation and can say this is patently false. We all ate massive and unprecedented rapid cost increases for as long as possible and it is now unavoidable that it hits the market. We also did everything possible to keep people working during the shutdowns despite our demand plummeting. We're talking hundreds of working class jobs and families who kept going because of a major corporation.

 

[Rideon66]

I work for a major corporation and can say this is patently false. We all ate massive and unprecedented rapid cost increases for as long as possible and it is now unavoidable that it hits the market. We also did everything possible to keep people working during the shutdowns despite our demand plummeting. We're talking hundreds of working class jobs and families who kept going because of a major corporation.

And telling the poor to eat cereal for dinner. Which is one of the most unhealthy things too.

 

[Rideon66]

Not to mention those same corporations took large PPP loans and had them forgiven and were not taxed on those. Yet in my state after over paying on student loans sometimes by decades they taxed that correction and those same rich corporations fought to stop that correction.

 

[ian]

1) Corporations, large or small, are mostly interested in their profits. Edit following @chiffonodd’s comment below and @HumbleHomeCook’s comment above: while I still think this is essentially true, I get that the reasons behind corporate action in a time of crisis are complex.

2) As far as I know, most US presidents only make a small impact on the US economy in the short term, although sometimes the policies put in place can have long term effects. They make very little impact on the world economy.

3) A worldwide pandemic makes a big impact on the world economy.

 

[chiffonodd]

I think an honest appraisal of the situation will reveal a degree of complexity that few are willing to recognize. Of course, as @HumbleHomeCook mentions, there were businesses that engaged in protracted and good faith efforts to keep costs down and people employed. There were also business that engaged in predatory practices. There were politicians who worked for the common good, and others who exploited the pandemic for personal gain. As for global price increases, it is absurd to pin it on a single actor, no matter who that actor may be.

 

[mengwong]

As for global price increases, it is absurd to pin it on a single actor, no matter who that actor may be.

You have no idea how the groceries went up since my pre-marriage times.

Matus straight up admitted it was his wife’s fault. We have to accept that at face value.

 

[ian]

Matus straight up admitted it was his wife’s fault. We have to accept that at face value.

Finally, a consensus choice.

 

[jakuda]

Eggs were on a crazy ride the past couple of years. Avian flus hitting farms didn't help.

Not a US nationwide chain and it isn't a one-stop-shop but I've come to like the lottery nature of shopping at Grocery Outlet. One can often find premium brands and items at discounted prices.
For example, Whole Foods sells Eel River Farms organic, 100% grass fed beef. Eel River has another brand "Pacific Pastures" which Eel River confirmed is the exact same beef, that is 40-50% cheaper per lb than the version at Whole Foods.

 

[MarcelNL]

that price hike on food stuff in general has been going on here since post covid but skyrocketed when the 'special military operation' started. Eggs and veg oil shot through the roof, a.o.

Shrinkflation is all over the place, and it appears as if that currently is mainstay for producers now that price hikes are decreasing.

 

[Corradobrit1]

Olive oil is a truly luxury item now. I have cut back on the amount I use in cooking and try to limit its use for salads and drizzling on pasta dishes.

 

[NameAlreadyTaken]

In Australia, we have such a highly concentrated market with limited competition that the competition and consumer protection agency has launched a public inquiry into supermarket price gouging. The CEO of one of the major chain stores has recently stepped down after a bad press conference. The practices that are still being highlighted (the inquiry is ongoing) fall well below community expectations.

 

[MarcelNL]

I find it amazing that the losses in sales do not drive prices down...I suspect it may bring some manufacturers on their knees and others in a better position to keep prices where they are.

Eggs have gone up to crazy prices, farmers are paid about the same...the shtick was 'bird feed is expensive now Ukrain cannot export' and 'energy is expensive' (that went up SKYhigh, so lucky we have a three year contract with fixed rates) and 'bird flu' now all of these effects have largely resolved (bird feed first) but most prices stay the same.


all in all, I simply stopped buying many things which also helps keeping unhealthy stuff out of the house, stuff like EVO is not going to be cut.

 

[aporigine]

I find it amazing that the losses in sales do not drive prices down...I suspect it may bring some manufacturers on their knees and others in a better position to keep prices where they are.

Eggs have gone up to crazy prices, farmers are paid about the same...the shtick was 'bird feed is expensive now Ukrain cannot export' and 'energy is expensive' (that went up SKYhigh, so lucky we have a three year contract with fixed rates) and 'bird flu' now all of these effects have largely resolved (bird feed first) but most prices stay the same.


all in all, I simply stopped buying many things which also helps keeping unhealthy stuff out of the house, stuff like EVO is not going to be cut.

In ‘Fornia a coupla years back, a dozen eggs spiked from maybe $1.50 to >$8 due to an epizootic of avian flu. They came back down and I sometimes get them for two something.

Pork, especially bacon, shot up because of a state law regarding density of animals in pig farms with which most of the large producers were noncompliant. Again they relaxed, but the supply chain is still ringing from the huge hit Covid landed on it.

Gas is a whole ‘nother story. That involves politics, so ‘nuff said.

 

[MarcelNL]

I have no issue paying more knowing that the farmers are kept in good shape, my biggest issue is that the rest of the chain is gobbling up the extra margin but farmers are left to pick up cost.

I've increased buying direct from farmers a lot, I pay the same amounts but at least I know they go to the place that needs it most.

gas? what's that? ;-) We kicked out the ICE and replaced it with an EV, solar panels come to the rescue...let Spring begin !
(it's interesting to see how power production drops of fast in November and kicks back in starting March)

 

[ian]

Olive oil is a truly luxury item now. I have cut back on the amount I use in cooking and try to limit its use for salads and drizzling on pasta dishes.

I think that's true for many imports around here, although the Californian stuff is not bad.

 

[M1k3]

...although the Californian stuff is not bad.