With grocery prices up 25% since the beginning of the pandemic, Americans have found themselves making some serious sacrifices and putting off paying for necessities, such as rent or other bills, to afford groceries.
  • oxjox@lemmy.mlEnglish
    25·
    3 days ago

    Food inflation was just below 2% before the pandemic and has been just below 3% since last fall (which is roughly double normal food inflation) https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/food-inflation-in-the-united-states/ This article is grossly outdated and the claim of “skyrocketing (meaning, actively increasing) food prices” is flat out wrong.

    Quotes from the linked article and this one…

    Grimes sees another factor driving up consumers’ perception of higher grocery prices. “What has happened over time is that the quality of food has gone up”. In other words, America’s tastes are too damn high.

    According to the study, many are changing their food shopping habits. About 37% say they are now shopping at discount grocers versus big-name supermarkets. About one-quarter of respondents (26%) say they are buying less healthy food for themselves and their families because it is what they can afford.

    I’d love to know how many shoppers are continuing to buy processed foods versus learning to cook from produce and proteins. Or how many have started sourcing produce from farmers markets.

    Nothing but (arguably) the love for your family should come before properly feeding yourself. It’s food. It’s what we need to survive. Everyone should know how to make a healthy meal from real, cheap, local, seasonal ingredients. I know that’s hard for a lot of people (including my own family) but it should be the case. I can not comprehend people saying they’re buying “less healthy food” to save money. Healthy food is cheap AF - as long as you know how to cook it. I just spent $65 at a fancy produce market in a major city to feed myself for the week.

    I’m not arguing that prices aren’t up. But they aren’t still as high as during the pandemic and they certainly are not skyrocketing. It just drives me mad when I see people not taking feeding themselves seriously and then go and blame the government.

    I would have thought “Food & Wine” would have at least offered some suggestions or links to “Cheap Weeknight Dinners” or “How to Grocery Shop When You’re Broke” to help people struggling.

    • TrashGoblin [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
      5·
      3 days ago

      I eat almost no processed food other than giving my kids breakfast cereal and lunch treats, and a grocery trip that I’m used to costing $80 costs $120, consistently, week over week. Maybe food prices aren’t continuing to skyrocket, but higher prices are locked in, and wages aren’t catching up.

      • oxjox@lemmy.mlEnglish
        2·
        2 days ago

        I think a lot of the existing higher prices are largely due to grocery store mega corps price gouging. Smaller markets are more flexible (while paying their staff living wages). Famers markets are still an obscene value. I filled up two bags with produce the other week for $30. Granted, ten years ago that would have been $20.

        Also, no one seems to mention the increased prevalence of paying with a card. Every transaction paid with credit or debit is hit with a 2-3% charge from Visa or the POS supplier. Now that so few people are paying with cash, all stores are increasing their prices to cover those costs.

      • oxjox@lemmy.mlEnglish
        22·
        2 days ago

        That is not a healthy response to reading something on the internet. Hope you can find some peace in your life.