Food Prices, Shortages & Inflation - The Trash Index

[Wifezilla]

Oh HECK yeah!

Urban Micro - Farm Consultant does have a nice ring to it

 

[~gd]

OFG, will you be posting how to live cheap in a crazy world on your blog???

Here is a weird inflation indicator....bagged ice. Our ice make broke and we tossed all our ice cube trays when we got it years ago. I make ice in my silicone bakeware, but sometimes we need extra and pick up a bag. I used to grumble at hubby when we would go camping and the convenience stores charged $1.19 for a 10lb bag. Hubby had me grab one at 7-11 the other night and it was $2.69!!!

Hubby was threatened with death if he didn't fix the ice maker. We use www.repairclinic.com to fix our appliances. Saves us a load of money.

If/when you get the ice maker working check to see how long it takes to produce 10 pounds of ice! most just have a pound or so capacity and make new ice as it is called for 10 cycles can be a long time. If you try to build up a supply in your freezer put it in a freezer bag otherwise the "frost free" feather will eat it it all up. I don't know if you stop in motels in the summer. most will have two ice machines bigger than your refrig. If you go for ice after 8PM forget about it untill midnight! Early morning is when travelers load up their coolers with free ice. I carry a really well insulated ice bucket and fill it when I arrive (have you noticed the ice cups in your room, they might hold a Quart)~gd

 

[Living the Simple Life]

we had a shocker at the grocery store. instead of our normal $40(ish) a week we spent $70 b/c we bought stuff we dont normally get. we stood in the cereal aisle laughing and hanging off each other looking at an $8 - thats EIGHT DOLLAR - box of fancy granola. we nearly peed our pants over that one. and then we went around to the cooking oil section - i wanted to fry something and didnt want to waste my precious lard - and a normal/regular bottle of corn/veg oil was almost $5. FIVE DOLLARS?!!?!?!? even the store brand of who-knows-what oil was almost $4. the last time i bought it was a couple years ago and it was $1.99.

We went to Aldi's on Saturday and got a shock - most items that we typically use/stock up on had increased an average of $.50 each. Some canned goods had stayed the same or increased by $.10 - the biggest increase was coffee which had went up $1.50 per can and rice which had increased by $0.57 per pound. Yikes!!! Also, the store had been running a major "price drop" campaign....um, apparently the prices dropped, hit the floor and bounced waaaay back up!

 

[gettinaclue]

It's going to feel very hard??!! GOING TO?? These folks obviously haven't been grocery shopping lately. Last August, I was making the same as I am now and I had some money left over after bills were paid and grocery shopping had been done. Now, I'm having a hard time keeping food in the house. We have already gone through most of what I had stocked up - granted, it was a modest amount of stocking up but STILL!

The garden isn't producing enough to feed us through the year - it isn't big enough for that AND I'm just dipping my toes in to preserving....I have another 2 years of shopping at the grocery store looking me in the face before I can wean my family off of it to make a big enough difference in the food bill....

Going to... HUH.

That just steams me.

 

[Icu4dzs]

The two guys that helped us send last year's pigs to freezer camp (ok, not "helped," they did it for us) have a business where they either do this stuff for you (they also put in and maintain veg gardens, build outdoor ovens, paint murals, etc) or do it WITH you while teaching you.....and the client is invited to participate as much or as little as they want. Brilliant. I'm raising a pig for them this year in exchange for their services. Don't forget to "store up" some good connections and be very familiar with bartering.

I've been thinking about the same sort of thing. We have one CSA in this area and with the weather being a little difficult around here, if they have problems, then alll the CSA shareholders get way too little.

But if everyone had a garden, it would be a lot easier. I have a 60" roto-tiller for my small utility tractor. I can till a garden any size for whoever wants it in the matter of a few minutes. Imagine being able to plant 30 minutes after having your garden tilled? So I thought I'd get a few otherwise "unemployed" folks and start a business installing gardens for anyone who'd rather have a garden than a lawn. Might be that some of the "snootier" neighbors won't like it but if things go the way it is looking, I'll bet they'd rather eat than cut the lawn.

Imagine having a crew that could build a couple of gardens a day? What's the liklihood of folks going hungry if everyone has a garden in their yard? To my way of thinking, it'd be pretty low!

Well, I do tend to "think outside the box" but now that I now someone else is doing it, I might just get a little more active with it.

Great idea.
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[abifae]

Yeppers. My little cushion of money each month is completely gone. Just to keep up on food.

 

[FarmerDenise]

I also end up shocked every time I go to the grocery store and look around. I usually just go and pick up the few items we use regularly. I peek at the fruit and vegies and cannot believe that three measly summer squashes cost $1.99. Recently I went on a shopping binge to stock up on some things. I used coupons and store credits and sales. I spent about $300 over a month and did manage to stock up nicely. I also managed to save about 50%. I still flet I paid more than I used to pay for the stuff I got. I would not pay full price for any of the stuff I got. Common $1.50 for a can of beans?? I like to have pork and beans in the house. But not if it is going to cost me one dollar and fifty cents per can!!! Oh I got mine on sale and with a coupon and paid 59 cents per can.

It just reinforces that we really have to work on keeping our shelves stacked ourselves. Home preserving is really worth it right now. That wasn't the case in the 70's.

 

[abifae]

*nods* I'm working on learning how to can foods this year!

 

[gettinaclue]

Yes, I had hoped to be canning by now, but as always, something comes up. I do have the water bath canner, but no pressure canner yet, but there is still plenty that I can do...HOWEVER, I just planted the goodies to can this year berries for jams and jellies), so it's going to be a year or more before I have enough to can.

Food is just eatting me up ....er...you know what I mean.

 

[Wifezilla]

There are still bargains to be had but they are few and far between. So far squash at the farmer's market is still cheap. So are cucumbers. I have found strawberries on sale more than a few times and stocked up. Kale has been between $1 and $1.50 a bunch. Onions are $1 per large bunch. 2 for $1 for the green onions. As for the other items...YIKES!!! Tomatoes and peppers are scarce. They are charging $8 for a tiny paper bag of cherries. $8 for like 4 or 5 peaches. None of the good Rocky Ford melons have started showing up yet. I am afraid what they will cost this year. Good thing I have pears and grapes coming in quite well this season. It will be the only fruit I get!