I did the grocery shopping this morning. I use cash when I buy groceries. Cash keeps me accountable in my spending. I thought I had more than enough for groceries. Imagine my surprise when at my final stop, I had just barely enough and was counting coins to make that last purchase. I will say, I skipped grocery shopping last week and needed to buy more than I might usually. But still, grocery prices have really jumped up in my area.
I've got two sets of receipts in front of me, one set from 6 weeks ago and the other from today.A month and a half ago, I bought a 5-dozen case of eggs at Walmart for $9.98. Today, I paid $16.38 for the same size and brand of eggs. Six weeks ago I bought 2 pounds of butter at WinCo for $2.98 a pound. This morning I bought 2 pounds of the same butter at WinCo for $3.68 a pound. Six weeks ago I bought 1 gallon of milk at WinCo for $3.11. Today the same brand and size of milk at WinCo was $3.48. Six weeks ago I was paying $2.68 per quart of soy milk. Today I was shocked to see it had jumped to $3.38, same brand, same store.
It isn't all bad news. The flour that I normally buy for bread, the natural peanut butter that my family likes, our staple fruit bananas, and the usual cheese that I buy have stayed at the same price. But nothing on my usual list has come down in price this year.
We're doing okay, though. I suppose the garden produce, cooking most meals from scratch, and using our stockpile of freezer and pantry foods are keeping us from needing to rework our grocery budget. The same can't be said for all of us, however. I read last month that 27% of Americans divulged that they are skipping meals periodically as a strategy to keep their grocery spending stable. Obviously, this isn't a sustainable solution to the problem of high food prices. Our church sponsored a food drive two months ago, informing the congregation that the food pantry's shelves were emptying at an alarming rate. I don't know what the answer is with rising food prices. My hope is prices will come down enough so that those 27%-ers don't have to skip meals anymore. In the meantime, generosity to food banks can go a long way to help those really struggling.
As annoyed as I am to find higher and higher grocery prices, I also know that I am blessed. There is always enough food in my kitchen. I'm sorry that this post is more about me working through my thoughts about my grocery shopping than anything of help to someone else. Sometimes I just need to write things out to see what I am missing. Today, my writing revealed that I am already blessed beyond measure.
