According to my checkbook, my last trip to an actual supermarket took place on December 22. I went yesterday because I had used up all my stored juice. I have a couple of quarts of cider left in the freezer but that’s it. I was struck by a couple of things.
1. Prices are a LOT higher than a few months ago. Sugar was $7.69 for a ten pound sack. Packaged cereal was in the neighborhood of $5.00 for a name brand box and many packages were noticeably smaller. If you shop each week the prices may creep up on you but when you only shop 6 times a year, it really shows up.
2. It is not possible to shop in a supermarket and avoid plastic or GMO’s.
3. A lot of people were using WIC checks and credit, debit or SNAP card. Cash and checks are pretty rare.
4. A lot of the staff was middle-aged. I wonder how many were checking out groceries because they needed that extra cash to pay for their own groceries.
I’m not making an editorial here. Just observing.
The news has been really bad of late. The austerity budgets are coming out and I think it’s just the beginning. Our school district announced last night that the stimulus money is gone, the state has reduced aid to municipalities and next year will certainly see budget cuts and staff reductions. Climate instability has impacted the price of food with poor people being hit hard enough to topple governments. People seem to be going crazy in larger numbers with violent events dominating the news. We have huge, macro problems with solutions seemingly beyond the scope of anyone to solve. While the problems are big, for many of us, the solutions need to be small.
Figure out your food. Joining a food co-op may seem like too much work but the benefits are huge. Good food without all the packaging at better prices along with a food community is just the beginning. Look at your diet. What can be changed? What can be sourced differently? I took a long look at juice yesterday. I’ll certainly be canning more apple juice this year and just drinking less juice overall. Herbal teas can fill in for some and plain water too. I give up coffee from time to time but I always fall off the coffee wagon come winter. I need to discipline myself to give it up for good. We eat very little dried cereal and we all like oatmeal and cooked wheat. My kids actually like plain rice with milk and sugar for breakfast. I can knock boxed cereal right off the shopping list and never miss it.
Really look at your energy usage. We’re pulling the second television out of the den. The girls often turn it on just for the music station when they have lots of other music sources that use much less energy. Weather stripping, and window coverings are a better investment than a new, $ 6000.00 furnace in many cases.
Buy used.
Don’t buy.
Stay home.
Turn it off. (It doesn’t matter what it is. You’re better off if it is.)
Grow something.
Store something.
Don’t wait.
February 18, 2011 at 7:26 am
Like you, I will be making more juices myself next year. I’m making my “pre mud season” run into town today and I know I’m going to be dismayed by the prices! I think of all those people who didn’t listen to the warnings and prepare or start a garden. I worry about how this all will play out.
We work hard to cut our electric usage as well, and thought this was the year for a bit of solar, but as the heavy snow load melts, we discovered a dire need for a new metal roof.
February 18, 2011 at 9:54 am
We use a debit card because our store makes it a hassel to use a check and I really don’t like to have a lot of cash on me. Also if you carry a lot of cash and you lose it or get robbed you are just out. With a debit card you can put a stop on the card and not lose anything. About the packages being smaller – that just makes me crazy and screws up my recipes that call for a can of or a package of.
February 18, 2011 at 10:57 am
I gave up animal-based foods last fall, but it feels as if I still spend more at the grocery for organic fruits, veggies and whole grains. Perhaps that’s a seasonal thing since my CSA doesn’t begin until April. I’ve just ordered seeds to grow kale, chard, and other greens that are the foundation of my healthy new regimen. To the adage “You can pay the grocer or the doctor,” I hope to add, “You can pay the home gardener or the grocer or the doctor.”
February 18, 2011 at 1:00 pm
I love my cooked cereals in the morning so it wasn’t hard to stop buying boxed cereals except for once in a while.
I try to shop only once or twice a month and so i notice some prices a lot more than others.
Prices are going up the past few months but it sounds like from what I read they’ll be going up even more and faster before summer is even here. The world is so unstable these days!
peace, shamba
February 18, 2011 at 10:35 pm
I am new to this, but in all my reading, and what is going on in the world, I can SEE that I need to be more prepared. I started gardening in raised beds last year, and put up some food, but the prices have risen so high, so fast, that I am adding more raised beds, and am going to try to raise most of my veg needs for the spring summer and fall, with enough canned or frozen for winter. They said on the news the other night that food prices have gone up by 29% in the past year. My pay check pays our food cost for my home,and I have watched it get me less and less. It is time to start being proactive in what I can do, to make sure my family can stay healthy, and eat well balanced with out me having to have a second or third job.
I went to Sams club today, and a six pack of peppers that I bought 2 weeks ago, was over a dollar and a half more! that is not small increases. Gas here is up to 3.25 a gallon, and you dont hear people getting upset any more. We HAVE to do something, we must learn to be more self reliant.
February 18, 2011 at 10:53 pm
Kathy – thank you for your continued great advice. We need to be reminded that there are alternatives to pricey boxed cereals and plenty to do right at home. I do try
not to shop as often, but habits are hard to break. Overheard grocer telling elderly customer this morning that everything was going up – a lot. He was unpacking new shipments as he talked, and I imagine repricing some of them. Our local paper actually listed grocery stores in this area in order of price, and advised everyone to go down one level if they were feeling the pinch. There seems to be general agreement even in the mainstream media that prices are going up on consumer necessities.
February 19, 2011 at 6:49 am
Excellent post Kathy. Here’s a blog link that has a link to the video I saw Thursday re: price jumps on fresh, frozen, and canned vegetables. I saw the same articles in my newspaper yesterday morning, & one on the front page re: the jump in the cost of cotton clothing.
http://amatterofpreparedness.blogspot.com/
The post is the second one down and the link to the video starts with FOOD STORAGE: and is in bluish letters. The grocers advice: stock up this week as prices are going to jump 50-90% in the next week.
Kathy, she too has a post on the Tattler lids. I’m thinking of getting some also. I love things that can be reused.
One thing, I would imagine that if people really pay attention to this, the availability of canning jars/lids will be low. People who do prepare will be snapping them up even more than usual come spring. In Aug I scored over 12 dozen jars for 20 bucks at a local flea market. Most were quarts.
I live in an area where it is (thankfully) time to start seeds inside. My garden will be enlarged this year, I garden in raised beds and will be attaching hoops for hoop houses (simple greenhouse effect) for warmer conditions. I hope to get a regular greenhouse up before the end of summer.
My trips to town are never for one thing – I do all my errands at one time, if I forget something I do without – except tp, and toothpaste!
Each trip to a store is spent looking at prepping items and I never come home without something to add to my stores – canned veggies, tp, extra toothbrushes, batteries, etc. Larger items when I can.
I have my chickens (what characters!) and plan on enlarging their home and creating a different layout with the gardens – the house will be in the middle – fenced garden on either side. While one lays fallow, they can glean out of it, and fertilize it. Then they get to forage in the one that has just completed it’s growing cycle and I plan for planting the first one. Found that idea online and I think it’s so efficient. My chickens free rangemost of the time.
I have 2.5 acres and am trying to make it more productive, but it’s just me, and I have to go slow as I can’t do all the heavy work by myself. Have to hire help sometimes.
I’m also signing up for a course given at the local university extension – all day classes on different aspects of gardening, chickens, food preserving etc. Can’t wait. I found a list of other classes being given in the local area by different master gardeners – most are free. So I’m going to be kept busy.
Would love to get bees, but that will have to wait. One step at a time.
I do many things to cut costs – cover my windows in winter to cut down on heat loss, turn off lights, unplug everything not in use when I go to work, I don’t watch tv – it’s a plant stand – consolidate errands into one big block instead of many trips to town. Rent the free canner at the cannery and do bulk canning at home. I buy local at farmers markets, co-ops and direct from the farmers. I recycle, resuse, wear it out and donate what I don’t need. The list goes on.
Keep up the good work. Ive tried to get the word out about the price hike – most folks don’t want to believe the reality. I keep trying though.
February 19, 2011 at 9:53 am
We went to Sam’s Club yesterday – our thinking was bulk rice, sugar and maybe some honey (until our bees get here!) Well, we looked at labels and ended up walking out of the store, empty-handed. We found NO organic food (not even some token produce); the rice was only “packaged” in america, but not produced here; the sugar was undetermined as it was not labeled except to be “packaged” in Florida (which means it could have been produced anywhere). I make organic baby food so it is absolutely necessary to buy organic! Then, we went to Walmart, only to find the same thing – NO organic produce at all! Back to Kroger, where it is impossible to find REASONABLE prices on organic foods – so I buy them when they are marked down and bring them home and fix them right away. Meat is another matter! We recently decided (after watching Food, Inc.) that we were no longer going to buy meat unless it was pastured and NOT fed grains. Well, in central Indiana, unless we want to buy in bulk, and order a year in advance, its not going to happen! We are getting chickens this spring, but its going to be a while before they are ready to butcher.
All that being said – what is a family to do? I would love a good resource on line for organic products (rice, beans, etc) to buy in bulk! I’m just going to have to bite the bullet and buy the meat that is bad for us, until my own is ready!
February 19, 2011 at 12:14 pm
daveandpaula – here are three links to companies that have organics in bulk. There are, I’m sure, many others.
http://www.bosredmill.com
http://www.waltongfeed.com
http://www.lundberg.com
Bobs is in Oregon and his products are in stores – at least on the west coast where I am. I find his big bags in the restaurant supply store.
walton feed is out of Idaho.
Lundberg is out of California – they grow organic rice – and have many varieties it seems. I buy at my local stores.
Bob’s and Lundberg also have a large amount of gluten free products. Lundberg’s site shows non-GMO products.
I think Honeyvillegrain in Utah also has some organics and their shipping is only 4.99 no matter how big the order. You pay a little more in products but shipping doesn’t strip your pocketbook.
I’m sure there are many others. Have you checked a local health food store or food co-op in your area? They can sometimes order organics in bulk also. Ask at the co-op regarding organic beef. My co-ops carry meat and it’s local, organic etc. Same with cheeses. They don’t cater only to vegans anymore. Co-ops are rich in knowledge, products etc. If you don’t have one locally, look them up online for the nearest to you and call them.
Order your beef now for fall butchering if it is taking that long. I go to the farmers markets and see who is there and ask farmers where they get THEIR beef. You might be surprised. Our farmers market has several WOMEN OWNED/OPERATED beef farms – all organic – who come with samples and products to buy so you can try and if you want to order, you know where they are. They are local to my area.
I know a couple of the local stores have actually added a local farms pastured beef to their meat department. Raised, fed, butchered, and packaged right here on my island, just a few miles from me. It’s good stuff. More expensive (not by much), but excellent & worth it. I plan on ordering for a fall butchering and spliting the beef/cost with my son and his family. I could forgo meat at all – but I do like some good ribs, or a steak etc now and again, but I actually use very little meat.
I’m sure that others will have suggestions for sources too.
Good luck!
February 19, 2011 at 5:49 pm
This winter I’ve realized that I need a plan for homegrown and locally grown food. I’ve had a veggie garden for several years and have thrown the seeds in the ground and enjoyed the produce. This year, though, I want to get a large amount of potatoes out of the ground and see how far into the winter we can get with them. And I’ll start recording results. I also plan to use some of my vacation time during the summer to can and dry more local produce – see if we can’t get through a good chunk of the year without rationing and buying from the store.
As always, Kathy (and your readers!), thanks for all the advice and positive comments.
February 19, 2011 at 9:22 pm
We barter with other local (NM) food producers and ranchers/ farmers for what we can’t provide. We can and freeze when things are in season or even free from a dumpster. This morning I traded eggs for cheese and soap. No money in the transaction whatsoever.
cheers,
alex
February 20, 2011 at 5:11 pm
Dave and Paula, try eatwellguide.com, localharvest.org, and eatwild.com to find sustainably raised foods in your area. The way our family “bit the bullet” was to pay more for local grass-finished meat and to eat less of it. Best wishes, Donna
February 21, 2011 at 12:25 am
Just picked up “Just In Case” and I am thankful I did! We are moving this year and now are also thinking in terms of where we can move that will allow us to incorporate the plans you have outlined in your book.
Kathy, you commented on the age of people you saw behind the counter as you shopped. If you haven’t yet, you should check out “Demographic Winter” online; it makes a good argument for why you see older folks behind the counters.
March 3, 2011 at 3:47 pm
daveandpaula –
In support of Jenn M, and ddu’s posts: I’m not sure what part of the country you’re based in, but we use a co-op called Azure Standard based in Dufur, Oregon (about 112 miles from us) that actually delivers by semi to most parts of the country. We like using them because (for us in Portland, OR) it helps to keep our carbon footprint lower, and gives us bulk organics at good prices. As a farm operation, they also grow a lot of their products themselves.
http://www.azurestandard.com
You’ll have to sign-in to see the prices, and they’re very helpful and would provide limited info on your nearest co-op group to take advantage of the discount (there’s a minimum order charge). They also ship many items.
However, if you’re farther afield, I’m sure there are other options out there. Good luck.