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grocery shopping in 1938
photo source:
https://www.wbur.org/npr/139761274/how-the-a-p-changed-the-way-we-shop |
In July, I began to feel the need to stock up on some staples again. I placed a few orders with walmart.com to be shipped to my house, made a pick-up at a Walmart store, and shopped in-person at WinCo, US Chef'Store (formerly Cash & Carry -- a restaurant supply) and Fred Meyer (while picking up gardening supplies). I spent a total of $293.58. (Of this, $10.75 was for foods for the 4th of July.)
Here's a comparison of what I've spent, month by month, in the last year. My spending in July is not bad, considering I stocked up so much.
Monthly food spending for last 12 months
Aug 2020 $92.18
Sept 2020 $182.30
Oct 2020 $304.52
Nov 2020 $189.45
Dec 2020 $77.98
Jan 2021 $54.07
Feb 2021 $184.66
Mar 2021 $152.77
Apr 2021 $447.19
May 2021 $285.53
June 2021 $127.98
July 2021 $293.58
Here's what I bought. You'll notice that I bought very little produce (the garden is prolific in July) and little meat. Most of what I bought was for my pantry stock-up.
12 bananas, 6 @ 46 cents/lb, 6 @ 48 cents/lb (Walmart and WinCo)
6 20-oz canisters raisins, $2.94 ea (Walmart.com)
bundle celery, 88 cents (WinCo)
5-lb bag carrots, $2.48 (WinCo)
4 gallons 2% milk, 1 gallon whole milk, $2.79 ea (WinCo)
pint whipping cream (for making ice cream), $1.87 (WinCo)
5-lb bag shredded cheddar and jack blend, $12.15 (US Chef'Store)
2 5-lb bags shredded mozzarella, $11.85 ea (US Chef'Store)
10 1/2-gallons 2% milk, 3 1/2 gallons whole milk, 99 cents/ea (Fred Meyer)
24-oz package pork bacon, $5.98 (Walmart)
2 27-oz packages pepperoni slices, $7.47 ea (Walmart)
2 dozen eggs, $1.15/dozen (WinCo)
2 10-lb bags all-purpose flour, $2.50 ea (Walmart.com)
5 10-lb bags sugar, $3.92 ea (Walmart.com)
2 gallons vegetable oil, one at $5.60, one at $5.70 (Walmart.com)
4 5-lb bags all-purpose flour, $1.22 ea (Walmart.com)
4 boxes graham crackers, $1.23 ea (Walmart.com)
6-pack 32-oz spaghetti pasta, $7.92 total for 12 lbs (Walmart.com)
2 3-lb boxes macaroni pasta, $2.12 ea (Walmart)
4 32-oz raw honey, $7.93 (Walmart.com)
5-lb bag corn meal, $2.36 (Walmart.com)
26 oz canister salt, 40 cents (Walmart.com)
2 16-oz bags whole almonds, $4.96 ea (Walmart.com)
.55 lb bulk cocoa powder, $1.42 ($2.58/lb), (WinCo)
2 16-oz jars chicken bouillon, $2.74 ea (Walmart.com)
2 16-oz cornstarch, $1.08 (Walmart.com)
4 boxes toasty oats cereal, $1.23 ea (Walmart)
3 bags chocolate chips, $1.78 ea (Walmart)
2 bags mini chocolate chips, $1.98 ea (Walmart)
32-oz beef bouillon, $3.98 (Walmart)
25-lb bag regular rolled oats, $14.50 (WinCo)
25-lb bag lentils, $14.96 (US Chef'Store)
large container ground cloves, $14.98 (US Chef'Store)
88-ct corn tortillas, $2.39 (US Chef'Store)
4th of July
hot dog buns, 85 cents (WinCo)
2 packets Kool-Aid (1 red, 1 blue -- 4th of July jello), 18 cents ea (WinCo)
deli potato salad, $3.98 (WinCo)
whole watermelon, $5.56 (33 cents/lb), (WinCo)
This was the month that I was preparing to defrost 2 freezers, which meant I didn't have a lot of space to keep much in the way of stock-up freezer items. In August, I hope to stock-up on meat.
More foods to add to the possible shortages and price increase list
A few more foods have come to my attention that may see significant price increases in the coming year -- bacon, flour, and almonds. Last week, I read an article about Prop 12 in California which will ultimately drive pork prices up. Read it here. I read another article about the devastation of our regional drought to the wheat crop in Washington state. I suspect flour prices will jump, as Washington state is one of the 4 major producers of wheat in the US. This article is here. When wheat scarcity hits, many will turn to other grains, which could drive those prices up as well. And again with California in the news, almond growers in CA are tearing out their almond orchards due to record drought and water restrictions. 80% of the world's almonds are grown in the US, with California producing more almonds than any other state. The article on the almond growers can be found here.
I can live with less bacon, and I'm also happy to eat turkey bacon. The wheat crop may be better in 2022, who knows. But the almond orchards being torn up could lead to longterm higher almond prices. This will in turn affect the price and availability of almond milk.
And yes, I did stock up on more bacon, flour, and almonds when I read this news. Some of these purchases fell in August, so they'll be reported in a month.
