So, for a lot of folks, this is just way too homework-y to bother with. But others may appreciate my methods a bit more. That's fine, either way. I'm never insulted if you don't want to bother with many of the things that I do.
I watch seasonal prices and store ads very closely. When I think that sale prices are higher than I was expecting, on any particular food, I do some research. (We really are very fortunate to have the internet and search engines.)
This week, it's green cabbage that I'm looking into. I received the store flyers on Tuesday, for sales running Wednesday through next Tuesday (March 18). I was expecting cabbage to go on sale for about 39 to 42 cents per pound at a couple of stores, for St. Patrick's Day this year. Instead, it's running on ad for 48 to 59 cents per pound. What's up with the higher prices, I wondered.
So, I did a little bit of online searching. One of my favorite sites is thepacker.com. Basically, it's market news on produce for the US. They give detailed info on what a particular market is doing this year. Evidently, according to thepacker.com, the Florida cabbage supplies are tighter this year. This is good for the grower, as he'll get a higher price for his cabbage. Bad for the consumer, who will pay more per pound. Cold temperatures are too blame, in Florida, for a slow planting season, and lowered supplies. When supplies are tight, the prices are higher. According to thepacker.com, expect prices to be higher than normal on your St. Patrick's Day cabbage. The other two major winter growing regions in the US are Texas and California. Texas is also seeing a reduced cabbage crop, due to weather, by about 30%. I didn't read anything on California's contribution to the cabbage market, but given how much coverage has been given to the California water crisis, I would expect produce coming out of California to be higher than previous years, as well.
What does this mean to me? Well, the prices that I'm seeing on green cabbage, at my local stores (especially the 48 and 49 cents per pound), may indeed be about as low as I'm going to see for early spring (the month of March and into April, for my area). So, I will still buy 4 or 5 heads of cabbage, for our family, as 49 cents per pound is still a great price for fresh produce (just not as great as the 39 cents/lb I paid last year). And cabbage will again be featured heavily in my menus for early spring. (It's a great vegetable, high in vitamin C and vitamin K, as well as many phytonutrients, which may help protect against cancer and lower bad cholesterol.)
Understanding the current prices on foods helps me plan my purchases. In some instances, I get enough of a lead on a tight market to stock up a bit, in advance of a price hike. A couple of years ago the US had a bad peanut crop. There was enough advance warning on what this would do to prices that our family was able to stock up considerably on peanut butter, enough to get through almost a year at the old price.
Other times, just knowing that I'm getting about as good a price as can be expected simply makes me feel a bit better about having to spend more.
(For those of you hoping to find another installment on my leftover meal challenge, that'll be posted tomorrow. I know, you're all on the edge of your seats- the suspense!)
