Price of Food: 2007 vs 2008

That is ridiculous. That coupled with the price of petrol the back pocket is going to get hit very hard this year.

i can't believe the increase, i'm just 23 years old, i'm not sure what i should be doing now other than hoarding my money and making wiser choices about how much nutrition i can get for my buck, not just how much food. of course, all the prices are going up, and my income decreases-

Staci, I completely agree. I'm 23 as well, and I've definitely noticed the increase in my food bill. My boyfriend and I have been making a conscious effort to budget and cut back on more expensive foods (meat, treats like ice cream) which has helped!

An interesting thing I've found this year is that produce at the farmer's markets, usually considered a luxury trade here in NYC, is now actually often cheaper than supermarket produce. I guess small farmers are less vulnerable to the price swings of commodities? In any case, it's nice when the little guys become the more viable providers for once.

Right now we have 3 kids staying with us who aren't normally here (our 2 kids who live with the other parent, and a niece) and who are used to eating a lot of processed convenience foods. WOW has our food bill gone up this month, painfully so.

Add to that the fact that the price of gas went up $.16/gallon while we were in the grocery store, and it's getting scary. We have started our own little backyard garden, but we're not getting enough to make a real difference, and a lot of what we are growing is just stuff that's expensive to buy and so we normally don't (melons, for example).

It's going to be very, very interesting to see how this all plays out.

Yea, I'm only 18 and I've even realized this. Orange juice is ridiculous too. Not to mention the gas to get to the grocery store.

Maybe it's because I don't eat much processed food, but I really haven't seen a huge jump in my food bill over the past year. Some of the stuff I buy has gone up a bit, but for the most part, it's been fairly consistent. I have noticed the price of convenience foods has gone up a lot (like canned soups, breakfast cereals, etc.), but most of the produce I buy isn't all that much more expensive than it was last year. I also have noticed that farmer's market produce is usually cheaper than the store stuff, so I buy it whenever I can. The price of food going up is actually linked to higher gas prices because the truckers are having to pay more for gas, so that cost transfers to the store.

I have noticed that soda prices have also gone up quite a bit since last year. It's part of the reason I've cut back on my soda consumption...sometimes the stores will charge almost $5.00 for a 12 pack of soda!

I've noticed it with eggs, definitely. Plus if you buy the organic, cage-free eggs, it can be almost $5.00/dozen. Yikes!
It seems like all my food is super expensive, because I either buy from the health food section of the grocery store, or from a natural/whole foods store like Earth Fare or some of the smaller ones in my town. It's hard to find a single item for less than $5-$6 unless it's yogurt or something.

hey, carrots, cucumbers, oranges, tangerines, and pears, that works for me!

Our grocery budget hasn't really gone up, but we don't eat much processed food either (not to mention, we're allergic to dairy & eggs - lucky us). The allergies do mean limitations, and some hefty prices at the local health food store, but the only thing we've changed is we only get groceries every other week. Oh, and we buy meat in bulk when it's on sale & freeze it in meal-size packages in our deep-freeze.

I don't eat much processed food but I HAVE seen a big increase.

Especially in the meats. That's where I've seen the most.
But also slightly in the vegetables.

So what?

1. I don't buy from the regular food channels - Just food co-op and farmer's market (all locally produced)

2. I would spend all my money on food, if necessary, because it's the most important purchase I make!