Does it feel like prices of groceries are skyrocketing??

[WarGamer]

That's because they are... an unheard of rise in grocery costs. More than a decade worth of increases in 2 years.

The current strategy at the Fed is to hobble the economy so much that people buy fewer groceries and thus, prices will drop... (only partially joking)

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. It is all fabricated nonsense. No need for the increases or not like this.

These bastards are fucking us over and getting away with it.

The ACTUAL amount of inflation is far less than half of what they are doing to prices.

For instance

https://www.businessinsider.com/defense-contractors-and-their-line-of-household-goods-2012-6#texas-instruments-was-also-making-missiles-until-a-few-years-ago-6

The same corp that makes weapons makes stuff you have in your household. Corporate America sells groceries. THEY Are the ones adding to the prices.

[WarGamer]

2. Who?

The food producers? Processors? Packagers? Distributors? Grocers?

[emulatorloo]

5. Dunno, just paid $2.99 for a pound of paleo bacon at the grocery store.

[edhopper]

14. I agree

Did it really double to make potato chips and corn chips? Because the prices doubles. It's gouging pure and simple.

[Eliot Rosewater]

21. ONLY the corps are making more, everyone else in the chain are not.

[edhopper]

27. I agree

the stores are just passing on their increase.

[Demsrule86]

33. See I don't buy those things...I am gluten free so my stuff is more. I make most of it.

I buy meat, chicken, gluten-free bread (only luxury), potatoes, rice, make or buy pasta depending on the price (gluten-free), and vegetables. I buy a couple of gluten-free macarons or cream-filled brownies at the bakery when I shop weekly. If I want tortilla chips, I take corn tortillas and throw them in the fryer or bake them.

[edhopper]

35. I don't either

mostly we by raw food and shop at Trader Joes for a lot of things. But I notice the prices and sales at my local grocery. For example, I notice some brands of Pasta Sauce have close to double, tomatoes, not so much.

[Demsrule86]

44. I make my own sauce too mostly or I buy something on sale...I find places like Ollies often

have great spaghetti sauce cheap. And Sams and BJ's too.

[edhopper]

45. Mostly yes

but if I can get Rao's on sale...

[jimfields33]

46. Labor costs went up, taxes went up to 15 percent, gas is still high

Grocery stores have a margin of about two percent. They are not living off the hog. They are barely hanging on.

[edhopper]

47. I think the big increases

are the manufacturers, not the grocers.

[jimfields33]

51. That's a great point.

[FSogol]

3. Oh FUD!

[emulatorloo]

6. You nailed it.

[IcyPeas]

4. my favorite popcorn is now $4.99 a bag

5 bucks for a bag of popcorn?

[Eliot Rosewater]

15. Blame corp America

In this case, Ovrille Redenbacher

Conagra Brands Inc
NYSE: CAG

[edhopper]

16. And I haven't notice the price of corn

skyrocketing. Gouging!

[Eliot Rosewater]

23. But as you can see here and elsewhere, it is real easy to lie to people and tell them

it is the libs fault.

[edhopper]

24. That is the plan

[hlthe2b]

7. The percentage increases for some products are inexplicably so off-the-scale that I think these

companies are going to lose consumers for some of their products permanently. I know I am rethinking some items that I've purchased/consumed for many years because the % increases (and there were several such over a few weeks) was so ridiculous.

Obviously there is not the choice for all items, though.

[Behind the Aegis]

8. Hmmm...

I know some things have risen, but in my area of NE OK, more than a few food prices are falling. Keep in mind they are still a bit higher than pre-pandemic, but they are starting to be more reasonable. Fruits and vegetables have finally started to come back down. A few staples, certain breads and cheeses, even milk, are coming down, and not as "sale" items.

[MerryHolidays]

9. They are BUT

I suggest you consider other stores like Aldi or Grocery Outlet if you have them and are convenient.

The prices are MUCH cheaper. You likely will NOT get the specific brand/product you want, but we're not too fussy.

Also, try getting apps for stores like Safeway. I am not a big fan of apps for privacy and other reasons, but they do offer digital discounts for certain products, making them reasonable.

Just a thought.

[True Blue American]

36. Aldi has their own brand I prefer them yo name brand, mayo, catsup.

Hazel Nut Coffee, my favorite, at least a dollar less. At times $2.

Their Blueberry bagels are big, crust, yet soft $1.99 for 6 Cream chees,$1 less. Then I got to Walmart for other things.

I refuse to pay the jacked up prices. Find something else!

[Earth-shine]

38. "Just a thought" -- and a very good one

The most immediate way to deal with runaway inflation is to shop around.

Aldi's prices seem to be about the same as they were a few months ago.

When I lived in North Carolina, I avidly shopped at the Grocery Outlet. Now, I live in Florida. No GO.

[jimfields33]

50. Really? Aldi prices have skyrocketed.

Still cheaper then Publix but they are higher.

[Earth-shine]

54. Maybe it's a regional thing or just the products I buy at Aldi.

The particular almond milk, coffee creamer, canned goods, and fresh produce seem to be about the same price.

I'm in southern Florida where Publix is king. Prices are most certainly up for Publix.

[MerryHolidays]

56. Prices may have increased, but they are considerably less

than the Krogers and Safeways.

[durablend]

39. Aldi has shot way up in price too

[Sogo]

10. Worldwide droughts and floods, plus the hold-up of Ukraine exports of grain,

are causing a supplyside shortage.

More demand than supply, means higher prices....

[Hugh_Lebowski]

11. My alcoholism is definitely getting more expensive to maintain (nt)

[Eliot Rosewater]

19. I cant drink, I am allergic to alcohol...

Every time I drink I break out in handcuffs.

[Demsrule86]

25. That sounds like a very serious...perhaps life-threatening allergy...

[Hugh_Lebowski]

29. Lol ... I see you've been to AA too Eliot

Trust me, I know most of the jokes

[Eliot Rosewater]

32. First time I heard that one I laughed, and identified.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

55. Here's a funny thing ...

I actually kinda wish I was in your shoes, with your body chemistry, believe it or not.

Cause sometimes, actually getting in trouble ... prompts change.

Somehow I've managed to avoid any serious consequences (thought the Doc ain't happy with my liver numbers) other than a DUI on the night before my college graduation in the early 90's.

And that wasn't even my fault, the girl in my car started blabbering in a really obviously drunken way about how her brother is a sheriff or some shit. If she wasn't there I swear I'd have walked that time too.

I blew .12 (at the time .10 was limit) but ... I was pretty much fine. It was the end of college, I had quite the tolerance. Not saying it was fine to be driving, but if it'd just have been me ... very confident I'd have been let go. I passed every one of their tests, it's even in the record. Only got pulled over cause my tags were mildly expired, for the record.

OTTH, My BFF since 4th grade he was more like what you're talking about and he's been sober from booze for like 20 years cause he's terrified of what may happen.

Pretty sure he'll outlive me in the end cause booze makes him act crazy but it doesn't to me, and he quit because of it. I have done that before too, a few times, but not like him

[Eliot Rosewater]

63. It's up to you

It’s up to you

But like in the airplane movie if you decide to quit drinking now would be a pretty shitty time ha ha

[berniesandersmittens]

49. Bwahh

[True Blue American]

37. Solution? Give up alcohol!:)

[jcgoldie]

48. These prices are driving me to drink!

...And I can't afford it!

[berniesandersmittens]

12. The large cans of tuna i usually get are nearly 5 bucks a can

I'm definitely feeling a crunch on groceries.

[luvs2sing]

13. What used to cost me $100-125..

cost $160 yesterday. We have cut out a lot of things we used to buy and don’t buy a lot of prepared foods or snacks, and it’s still ridiculously expensive.

[WarGamer]

18. I don't want to sound like the old guy...

But in the early 90's I used to FILL a grocery cart to the top, with a few 6=packs of Coke hanging from the metal rails... canned, packaged, fresh meats and veggies... everything

Around $100

[Demsrule86]

22. You can't compare to the early 90's.

[jmbar2]

17. I don't buy a lot of packaged or prepared foods

Some items have increased, but the staples not enough that I'm feeling it.

[Demsrule86]

20. No, Bacon is down, I buy in bulk and buy during sales. But I have not increased what I spend.

And we eat well.

[luvs2sing]

26. I wish we had space to buy in bulk.

Bacon is still outrageous here in Columbus.

[True Blue American]

40. Sales are the way to go.

Stores have a pattern of sales. Stock up.

[edhopper]

28. How come milk has gone up 20%

but ice cream has doubled? Hmmm?

[questionseverything]

60. My local Kroger can barely keep ice cream in stock

For the last six weeks the popular ice cream (chocolate chip) is out of stock alot but now all the gallons are gone fast

Buying by the quart is way more expensive and now that seems to be short stocked

[Samrob]

30. Talk to the food industry CEOs and the owners who are not even US citizens.

It's because they can. And as long as our farmers are being paid to not grow a damn thing useful to our economy it will only get worse. I try my best to buy produce from local farmers. It's all about the pricing power. America needs to go on a diet. It will help in two ways: we might be healthier, cutting costs of medical care and we may be able to drive down some of the prices of food that is unnecessarily high.

[JT45242]

31. Misleading...look at the graph

If you look at the long term trend from about 1975 to the present the slope of the line is really close to current value if you extend through the aberration of the great recession and covid.

It is a little above the line but with a small regression, the line will just have normalized..

Comparing to the great depression of prices during covid gives a false impression.

[progree]

43. Also, something like this should be on a logarithmic scale - that's where a constant percent

increase is a straight line for example. On a linear scale like this one, something that is roughly increasing about the same percent a year will always have an ever-increasing slope.

That said, over the past 3 years, from August 2019 (pre-pandemic) to August 2022, there has been a 22.3% increase in Food At Home -- that is a 6.93% average annual increase, which is much higher than the average over the past several decades (from August 1972 to August 2022, 50 years, it comes to 3.94% average). The big increase in the last 3 years overall can't all be blamed on comparing to a Covid low baseline. Actually none of it can, since I'm comparing to a definitely pre-Covid baseline.

https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SAF11

[BannonsLiver]

59. The only thing we Americans are any good at is complaining.

That and shooting people. We're good at that too.

[BlackSkimmer]

34. It's insane.

I don't eat that much myself, but with all the critters I feed....just yikes.

[leftyladyfrommo]

42. Salmon at my Greenacres Store was $33 a pound. nt

[dweller]

53. Frozen shrimp

$44.95 for 2 lb bag 😳

✌🏻

[MissB]

64. Goodness

Good thing I’m allergic to shellfish

[Bettie]

52. Price Gouging, they raise prices to cover their increased costs and then raise them more

For example: Casey's a gas station chain in Iowa
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/business/2022/09/08/gas-prices-iowa-big-profits-caseys-general-stores-ankeny/8000951001/

Fuel sales led the way, with the company earning 45 cents on every gallon sold — up 10 cents per gallon over last year, according to its Wednesday report.

NOTE: They EARNED 10 cents more per gallon. They raised prices more than the new cost. They made plenty before, but they saw a way to make more and blame someone else for their price gouging.

And they aren't alone, most of them are doing it.


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-25/us-corporate-profits-soar-taking-margins-to-widest-since-1950

A measure of US profit margins has reached its widest since 1950, suggesting that the prices charged by businesses are outpacing their increased costs for production and labor.

After-tax profits as a share of gross value added for non-financial corporations, a measure of aggregate profit margins, improved in the second quarter to 15.5% -- the most since 1950 -- from 14% in the first quarter, according to Commerce Department figures published Thursday.

The data show that companies overall have comfortably been able to pass on their rising cost of materials and labor to consumers. With household budgets squeezed by the rising cost of living, some firms have been able to offset any slip in demand by charging more to the customers they’ve retained -- though others like Target Corp. saw their inventories swell and were forced to discount prices in order to clear them.

US inflation has surged this year and stood at 8.5% in July, not far short of the previous month’s four-decade high. Federal Reserve officials have pointed to rising wages as one of the big risks that could keep inflation entrenched. But some economists say that historically elevated profit margins mean there’s room for businesses to accommodate worker demands for better pay without setting off a wage-price spiral.

[Peacetrain]

57. I don't know... maybe its where I live.. but its getting more tolerable

Gas is 3.29 at Costco... Picked up a dozen eggs for 99 cents at HyVee yesterday..Of course we are Pescatarians and usually that is canned Salmon and wild tuna for us..

[Lancero]

58. Haven't seen as significant of a increase as Fux News claims their to be.

I changed up my diet years back.. Cut out heavily processed shit-food laden with HFCS, adopted a healthier, vegan based, diet. Actually following portion sizes. No meat. No eggs. No dairy. All that stuff that's currently jumping up in price.

Between that and doing this odd thing called cooking, my food costs got cut down to a third. So even with all the recent price jumps, I still haven't hit what I was spending five years back.

The price of food hasn't increased so much as the price of poor choices has.

[MissB]

66. All that helps!

I try to cook mostly from scratch. I grow a garden, I can and freeze and dehydrate my veggies, herbs and fruit. I raise hens too, for eggs.

It certainly is much easier to grab a can of beans from the grocery store. But I buy beans in bulk, vacuum seal them in jars and then pressure cook them in an instant pot as needed.

Tonight I’m making a stew using some chickpeas that I cooked this weekend, some potatoes, onions, tomatoes and New Zealand spinach - all from the garden- as well as a couple of slices of home-pickled jalapeños. Ordering out would be easier of course, but I’m looking forward to the smoky chickpea stew.

[kskiska]

61. Everything seems to be a dollar more than usual.

[Ron Green]

62. The bubble is bursting, the bubble we've lived in since

World War 2 (and in some ways, even longer.)

This bubble gave us the “Highest standard of living in the world,” but didn’t tell us the true cost of this consumption was offloaded onto poor people around the world, and mostly onto our only home, the earth itself.

Now the bubble is bursting, and y’all acting like the corporations are stealing from us more than they always did.

[Sympthsical]

65. Every single time I go, something's gone up.

Even Costco has been bad with this. Eggs in particular.

All I can think about are people who live paycheck to paycheck or on fixed assistance like SS or EBT.

How are they managing this?