Has Anyone Noticed? Skyrocketing Food Prices?

[JD Spydo]

Something is happening in the undercurrent of our economy ( The USA) but yet I hear very little, if anything said about it in the Main Stream News media concerning food and other grocery prices. Even when I try to chat with neighbors, friends and fellow workers about the rising problem it's as though they give me a look of being conspiratorial or being a paranoid alarmist. But I'm seeing food prices rising at a rapid rate like I've never seen in my lifetime but it seems to be happening in plain view with some food and grocery items literally doubling and in some cases tripling in 18 months or less>> and nobody seems to care about it or even notice it for that matter.

Most meat, poultry, fish prices and to a large degree even dairy prices are just rising at such a rapid rate I personally find it alarming but yet it seems like no one is noticing or even cares for the most part. I've heard very little about the underlying problem in the mainstream news media and it seems like the average American just takes an "Oh Well??" attitude about it.

But where I currently live here in the state of Missouri in the USA I'm finding many meat and especially fish items almost cost prohibitive compared to what they were just maybe 2 to 3 years ago. When grocery shopping a $100 dollar bill just seems to go up in smoke with maybe two modest sized bags to carry out when you pay for them. Have any of you who live here in the USA in your area noticed the aggressive pricing of food/grocery items going up exponentially in most of our country? And for that matter I'm wondering how food prices are stacking up in other countries as well?

I'm sure some of you think I'm being paranoid but compared to prices I paid as little as two to three years ago I'm just seeing the prices of many food items going up so fast that it makes me wonder how most families are even financially surviving at this point?

[The Deacon]

Can't say I have, JD. Did notice when I moved from upstate NY to SC eight years ago that, with the exception of certain cuts of pork, meat prices down here were noticeably higher than up there even when an particular cut, like London broil, was on sale. Found that a bit odd, as I assume stores here would have lower overhead costs due to lower rents, utility costs, and taxes. Still seems to be that way, prices here may have gone up a bit, but NY prices have gone up more, so the gap has shrunk.

[Tdog]

Don't know if prices are "skyrocketing" but they are definitely going up. I worked in grocery when younger so I pay close attention to pricing. I do most of the shopping for me and my wife. Buying the "deals" when available and selective shopping helps to defray the increase. We eat a lot of fish, shrimp, and lobster all which I catch. My freezer is well stocked. Two different bucks coming in the yard routinely but we'd never shoot them....unless :rolleyes:

[JD Spydo]

Can't say I have, JD. Did notice when I moved from upstate NY to SC eight years ago that, with the exception of certain cuts of pork, meat prices down here were noticeably higher than up there even when an particular cut, like London broil, was on sale. Found that a bit odd, as I assume stores here would have lower overhead costs due to lower rents, utility costs, and taxes. Still seems to be that way, prices here may have gone up a bit, but NY prices have gone up more, so the gap has shrunk.

Now that kind of surprises me. Because back in the late 80s/early 90s when I used to visit and stay summers in Jamestown NY ( West part of the state)>> I did notice then that meat prices there were somewhat higher than they were in my home town area of KC Missouri. Never been to the Big Apple which I assume is where you were at.
Maybe the prices have been high everywhere else for some time and now the high prices might be catching up to other parts of the country or to the part of the US I live at>> which is possible :confused: .
But a Ribeye or KC Strip steak here that cost $8 to $10 about 3 years ago is now around $18 to $22.

[JD Spydo]

Don't know if prices are "skyrocketing" but they are definitely going up. I worked in grocery when younger so I pay close attention to pricing. I do most of the shopping for me and my wife. Buying the "deals" when available and selective shopping helps to defray the increase. We eat a lot of fish, shrimp, and lobster all which I catch. My freezer is well stocked. Two different bucks coming in the yard routinely but we'd never shoot them....unless :rolleyes:

This past summer fresh farm grown fruit and vegetables just simply went through the roof. Home grown tomatoes doubled in the 3 places I usually buy them. Wild caught fish is getting harder and harder to get here at about any price. We do have the hunting/ fishing option here too but the stuff you eat with them is going up about each time you visit the stores.

Even the ALDI stores ( a popular discount/wholesale chain) have had prices on most of their items take off skyward in the past 2 to 3 years. Food Pantrys are popping up everywhere it seems and I've heard that more people that ever here in Missouri are on food stamps.

[The Deacon]

Now that kind of surprises me. Because back in the late 80s/early 90s when I used to visit and stay summers in Jamestown NY ( West part of the state)>> I did notice then that meat prices there were somewhat higher than they were in my home town area of KC Missouri. Never been to the Big Apple which I assume is where you were at.
Maybe the prices have been high everywhere else for some time and now the high prices might be catching up to other parts of the country or to the part of the US I live at>> which is possible :confused: .
But a Ribeye or KC Strip steak here that cost $8 to $10 about 3 years ago is now around $18 to $22.

I can understand meat being cheaper in MO, it's nearer the big meat packing plants. I was in the Albany/Rensselaer area of upstate NY. Am sure food prices in NYC are higher, due to the higher rents, higher taxes, and higher wages there.

As for steak one of my local supermarkets has Ribeye steaks on sale for $8.99 a pound and NY Strip (which is basically boneless KC Strip) on sale for $9.99 a pound this weekend. Another, that generally has better meat, has Ribeye for $9.99 a pound. Pretty sure both go for around $15-16 a pound when not on sale.

I have 3 supermarkets, plus Walmart, within a 3 miles of my house. I shop the ads and almost always wait until the items I buy are on sale, then stock up. Some weeks I hit all four stores, some weeks only one.

[Naperville]

Something is happening in the undercurrent of our economy ( The USA) but yet I hear very little, if anything said about it in the Main Stream News media concerning food and other grocery prices. Even when I try to chat with neighbors, friends and fellow workers about the rising problem it's as though they give me a look of being conspiratorial or being a paranoid alarmist. But I'm seeing food prices rising at a rapid rate like I've never seen in my lifetime but it seems to be happening in plain view with some food and grocery items literally doubling and in some cases tripling in 18 months or less>> and nobody seems to care about it or even notice it for that matter.

Most meat, poultry, fish prices and to a large degree even dairy prices are just rising at such a rapid rate I personally find it alarming but yet it seems like no one is noticing or even cares for the most part. I've heard very little about the underlying problem in the mainstream news media and it seems like the average American just takes an "Oh Well??" attitude about it.

But where I currently live here in the state of Missouri in the USA I'm finding many meat and especially fish items almost cost prohibitive compared to what they were just maybe 2 to 3 years ago. When grocery shopping a $100 dollar bill just seems to go up in smoke with maybe two modest sized bags to carry out when you pay for them. Have any of you who live here in the USA in your area noticed the aggressive pricing of food/grocery items going up exponentially in most of our country? And for that matter I'm wondering how food prices are stacking up in other countries as well?

I'm sure some of you think I'm being paranoid but compared to prices I paid as little as two to three years ago I'm just seeing the prices of many food items going up so fast that it makes me wonder how most families are even financially surviving at this point?

When they performed quantitative easing a decade ago, everything increased in cost by 30% at least. Food supplies didn't only go up in price, but the quantity shipped was reduced. Everything suddenly came in a smaller package.

Guess what? I think they are pumping cash in to the economy again as of last week.

[James Y]

Food prices have definitely been rising, but it hasn’t been TOO bad for me. I don’t eat a whole lot of meat, mostly ground turkey cooked into dishes. I cut beef and pork out of my diet back in 1995, and I almost never eat fish at all anymore.

I shop between 5 or 6 different stores. Luckily they aren’t far at all from my home, and they are all in the same general area. I shop at these different stores, because some stores have better produce and produce prices, while other stores have better selection and prices on other goods. Some produce, like avocados, I only buy when there’s a special sale, as the prices on those have become ridiculous lately. And the sales on avocados are becoming less and less frequent.

Jim

[JD Spydo]

Food prices have definitely been rising, but it hasn’t been TOO bad for me. I don’t eat a whole lot of meat, mostly ground turkey cooked into dishes. I cut beef and pork out of my diet back in 1995, and I almost never eat fish at all anymore.

I shop between 5 or 6 different stores. Luckily they aren’t far at all from my home, and they are all in the same general area. I shop at these different stores, because some stores have better produce and produce prices, while other stores have better selection and prices on other goods. Some produce, like avocados, I only buy when there’s a special sale, as the prices on those have become ridiculous lately. And the sales on avocados are becoming less and less frequent.

There have been lots of sale on avocados and several of the summer veggies here locally. I'm curious as to why you don't like fish. I eat it about 3 to 4 times a week myself. I don't eat beef or pork very often myself. Especially pork I've heard nightmare horror stories as to how it's raised and processed I'm even getting scared of the deer meat I like to hunt because they are finding more of that "Chronic Wasting Disease" in the deer population here in Missouri.
It is getting scary about whether most food is even fit to eat or not. I haven't eaten white bread in almost 5 years now. It is completely disgusting how the major bakers make most of their bread>> not only is most of the food not fit to eat it's very expensive too. The locally grown fresh veggies have been good this summer but the prices are high enough to bankrupt a Silicon Valley Billionaire

[murphjd25]

I haven’t really honestly noticed anything going up drastically, but I also buy half a beef for the freezer once or twice a year, get our pork from my father in law who raises pigs, and I catch most all of the fish we eat. And the few vegetables we grow in the summer months. The wife does all the grocery shopping and she hasn’t mentioned to much..

[JD Spydo]

I haven’t really honestly noticed anything going up drastically, but I also buy half a beef for the freezer once or twice a year, get our pork from my father in law who raises pigs, and I catch most all of the fish we eat. And the few vegetables we grow in the summer months. The wife does all the grocery shopping and she hasn’t mentioned to much..

Well maybe this is just a regional problem I'm faced with at this time. I've gotten about a dozen PMs and e-mails agreeing with many of you guys. Or maybe my part of the USA stayed at a low price for a long time before they got high as a kite.

Where I'm living it's not just food either. I've been shocked as to how much bar soap, shaving cream and dishwashing soap have all gone through the roof in the past 2 years or so. But again maybe it's just a regional problem?

[murphjd25]

I haven’t really honestly noticed anything going up drastically, but I also buy half a beef for the freezer once or twice a year, get our pork from my father in law who raises pigs, and I catch most all of the fish we eat. And the few vegetables we grow in the summer months. The wife does all the grocery shopping and she hasn’t mentioned to much..

Well maybe this is just a regional problem I'm faced with at this time. I've gotten about a dozen PMs and e-mails agreeing with many of you guys. Or maybe my part of the USA stayed at a low price for a long time before they got high as a kite.

Where I'm living it's not just food either. I've been shocked as to how much bar soap, shaving cream and dishwashing soap have all gone through the roof in the past 2 years or so. But again maybe it's just a regional problem?

It possibly could be JD, but I couldn’t tell you much! As far as soap, and all household items and such, we also buy that stuff in bulk from Costco as well. We are stocked up on soap, deodorant, toothpaste, shoot everything you can think of for probably a couple more years haha.

[shunsui]

Just wait until January. They raise food prices each year around here.

[James Y]

There have been lots of sale on avocados and several of the summer veggies here locally. I'm curious as to why you don't like fish. I eat it about 3 to 4 times a week myself. I don't eat beef or pork very often myself. Especially pork I've heard nightmare horror stories as to how it's raised and processed I'm even getting scared of the deer meat I like to hunt because they are finding more of that "Chronic Wasting Disease" in the deer population here in Missouri.
It is getting scary about whether most food is even fit to eat or not. I haven't eaten white bread in almost 5 years now. It is completely disgusting how the major bakers make most of their bread>> not only is most of the food not fit to eat it's very expensive too. The locally grown fresh veggies have been good this summer but the prices are high enough to bankrupt a Silicon Valley Billionaire

I don’t eat much if any fish because I don’t trust it very much. Especially any seafood from the Pacific or the Gulf of Mexico. I used to like fish at one time. Even then, I only ate seafood occasionally. Also, now that I do all of my own cooking out of necessity, I have less confidence in making good fish and other seafood dishes than other types of dishes.

Jim

[JD Spydo]

There have been lots of sale on avocados and several of the summer veggies here locally. I'm curious as to why you don't like fish. I eat it about 3 to 4 times a week myself. I don't eat beef or pork very often myself. Especially pork I've heard nightmare horror stories as to how it's raised and processed I'm even getting scared of the deer meat I like to hunt because they are finding more of that "Chronic Wasting Disease" in the deer population here in Missouri.
It is getting scary about whether most food is even fit to eat or not. I haven't eaten white bread in almost 5 years now. It is completely disgusting how the major bakers make most of their bread>> not only is most of the food not fit to eat it's very expensive too. The locally grown fresh veggies have been good this summer but the prices are high enough to bankrupt a Silicon Valley Billionaire

I don’t eat much if any fish because I don’t trust it very much. Especially any seafood from the Pacific or the Gulf of Mexico. I used to like fish at one time. Even then, I only ate seafood occasionally. Also, now that I do all of my own cooking out of necessity, I have less confidence in making good fish and other seafood dishes than other types of dishes.

I'm getting really picky about the origin of the fish I eat anymore. I try to only buy the "wild caught" fish whenever available. Or just eat fish I catch myself going fishing. We have some pretty nice and relatively clean lakes here locally where I live. I try to buy veggies, fruits and other farm produced items at our local "Farmer's Markets". It's getting pretty tough to find ripe fruit that is worth bringing home from most of the stores anymore.
Nutrition in general is getting to be a problem and even a lot of the food that has hardly no viable nutrition at all is getting pricey.
I've been lucky lately and found some lamb at my local health food store that was really good. I won't hardly eat chicken at all after learning how most of them are raised and brought to market.