check in on grocery prices in your area

[grasswire]

Let's do a roundup of prices to see how your own locality compares.

Are prices going up? Down?

In the last week in my area fresh broccoli and cauliflower have gone up 70 cents/pound, to $2.29. Butter is up 50 cents/pound except for the cheap store brand. $2 for the store brand, $3.29 for brand name. Milk, 2% half gallon 1.79. Ground beef, ground daily in store $3.29/pound. Orowheat health bread $3 loaf. Fresh almonds $2.99 pound on sale. Texas grapefruit 2/dollar. Most apples 99 cents/pound. Eggs, large A $1.99/dozen.

What's goin' on where you are?

[katnapped]

1. Up up and away

Scope is still rather limited but I expect it'll become more widespread into the first few months of the new year.

[ixion]

2. Prices are going up up up

All my veggies were up about a dime from where they were last week. :(

[littlewolf]

3. going up ... not sure how much ... but gas is going up

so it is not surprising .... cost of doing business being passed on ...

[elleng]

4. Dunno, avoiding grocery store, but keep in mind

gas prices have been rising, and the severe cold likely has additional adverse effects on ability of stores to obtain stuff from suppliers.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. Cat food futures have doubled.

[grasswire]

8. heheh

I'm trying various brands on my kitties to see which might be the most palatable if it comes to that.

[kiva]

34. They always know.

Fancy Feast cans, the crack of catdom.

[DenverDad]

6. The price of broccoli . . .

seems to have gone up quite a bit in the past week or two. Usually, depending on where I shop, I could get it for $.88-$1.29 per pound. Now it is around $2.00 per pound.

[grasswire]

7. welcome to DU, DD

Do you have many mouths to feed in your family?

[onenote]

22. bought broc on sale for $0.88 a pound last week on sale

The regular price is higher, but I haven't noticed a signficant jump.

[BlueIris]

9. Holding steady. Biggest jump was in 2005. That was scary.

Probably went up 2-300%, especially for dry goods and natural/organic fruits and vegetables.

Oh, except for coffee. My god, coffee is expensive.

[Sherman A1]

14. Coffee did go up significantly

we have Folgers 39 oz locally for $6.79 at one of the chains and there was a $1.00 coupon in the paper a week or so ago.

[Jamastiene]

10. What I wouldn't give for a half gallon of milk for $1.79

That sounds like a dream. Half a gallon is $3.19 and a whole gallon is $3.99...and that's store brand (Food Lion). What I would not give for $1.79 per half gallon of milk. I love milk, use it to help with nausea.

[Toucano]

27. Try fresh ginger for the nausea. n/t

[dixiegrrrrl]

11. Apples not on sale are 1.59 to 1.99 pound.

Ground chuck 3.29 #
Rib eye steak 7.99 #.
1/2 gal2% 2.39.....store brand.
Horizon 1/2 gallon organic = 3.99 . I don't buy milk anymore.
Yellow onions 1.69 #
I know these prices without actually buying some items, which are too expensive.
I buy almost everything on sale.
Bananas were 88 cents # Monday.


Prices high here because we are 2 hour drive from any large stores/competition.
Sales tax is 9.5%, I could shop tax free food but I would have to drive 90 miles one way to do it.

[Sherman A1]

12. Prices shot up when the gas prices up a few years ago

They have since slowed their rate of ascent and some things did actually decline. Ground beef is and will most likely remain high. Fresh vegetables will do so as well (it's Winter, happens every year). Overall prices are generally going up, costs increase for everyone and these will be passed on to the consumer.

Some things have actually been surprising in their reduced prices. Ocean Spray 64 oz Grapefruit Juice is currently 10/$10.00 at a local store.

You have to shop the ads, coupon like crazy and game the system as much as you can to come out anywhere near even.

Just picked up some coffee filters (100count) today for 39 cents at Walgreens (limit 3) but that will get me through for awhile.

[noamnety]

13. Not sure because I switched how I shop

so prices may have gone up but my expenses have gone down since I started price checking. I was shocked to see eggs above a dollar, closer to 2 now in the grocery stores. BUT - I found out they are still 99 cents at walgreens, I think at CVS, too. I used an online printable coupon and got two dozen last week for $1.43.

I bought 9 pounds of oranges, 1.5 pounds of red leaf lettuce and a thing of breath mints yesterday for $3.47. Would have been 47 cents but one $3 coupon wouldn't scan at the self scan and I finally gave up because I felt like a TSA agent fondling the scanner machine after awhile and started to creep myself out.

[remember2000forever]

15. South Florida

Went shopping today. OJ up 49 cents. WTF? The cold snap started 5 days ago. Guess they picked those oranges really fast or are speculating early?

[w8liftinglady]

16. Up-especially anything fresh-veggies,fruit,meat

in lovely Texas,home of the minimum wage.

[asjr]

17. Not only have prices soared, companies

are packaging their goods in smaller packages. We are being shorted both ways.

[grasswire]

23. the size of cracker boxes is ridiculous now -- 7 oz?

How silly. Same price as previously, when a box weighed 11 oz.

[Paper Roses]

18. Few prices the same, most up. Some, like coffee, price up,

size of can down./ Staples are really up, sugar, flour, potatoes and other veggies way up.

The only thing I notice with no real change is cheese. I can always but a bar of Cabot's or one of the other brands on sale for about $2.00 for the small bar.

I find I spend more and come back with far less. Since I shop just for myself, I go to the market every 2 weeks or so. It is always a shock to me to see the new prices on something I bought just 2 weeks before. Paid 1.29 a head for broccoli last week. When I go next week, it will be interesting to see what the price is. One of my local markets has changed pricing methods. What used to be a set price for a unit, is now by the pound. Example: Celery used to be .99 a bunch. Now it is 1.29 pound.(pound now posted in small letters on the price sign) Lets face it, a bunch of celery weighs more than a pound. Increase. Certain lettuces had been .99 a head, now .99 a pound.

You have to be a math wizard to figure it all out. Bottom line. Everything has gone up.

Buy the 'thousand sheets a roll'? I used to be able to stock up on sale for .50 a roll. Now I never see that sale, prices of paper goods have gone through the roof.

Every single thing we do is consuming more of our dollars.

Heating oil? Forget it. I'll be eating beans all winter. Actually, tonight it is Lentil soup. Good thing I love it.

Phooey.

[kimmerspixelated]

19. you're right, I

noticed this today. Reflection of gas prices?

[gmoney]

20. Isn't some of that seasonal?

fruits and veggies in most parts of the country have to be transported further, so that increases costs...

and I'm guessing food prices generally go up around this time of year due to people entertaining and cocooning...

not saying it's right, but maybe it's within expectations... maybe?

[udbcrzy2]

21. Coffee in St. Louis

I have been paying around $9.00 for a 2lb can. Folgers, Maxwell House and Wal-mart's Great Value brand all about the same price.
Hate Wal-mart, love their coffee.

[Sherman A1]

26. Folgers is on sale at

Shop n Save this week for $6.79 or something like that, might be time to stock up.

[elocs]

24. I think your grocery prices are high where you live.

Broccoli is usually under a dollar here in La Crosse in western WI, but sometime the price jumps and then goes down the next week. I can get a half gallon of 2% milk for $1.19 and I can get cage free, grade A eggs for $1.99.

Prices on some things vary by the season and often go up in the winter here.

[noamnety]

25. The milk here is actually free this week.

I'd have gotten some but I still have some stashed away from last time it was on sale for free. (smart balance milk has a loooong expiration date.)

Olive oil too. I saw some guy looking at the regular cooking oil when I was out yesterday. I told him he could get the olive oil free, he laughed and said he still had 21 bottles of it from last time, but he was getting one thing for someone who had food allergies and needed a certain kind.

[Dr Morbius]

28. Might help to identify your area; I am near Chicago.

Fresh broccoli and cauliflower: about the same, maybe $.69 a pound. Butter is running about $1.75, and as I don't check out "brand names," that will be the cheap brand. Milk has been running $2.29 or so per gallon for a couple months. Premium breads start at about $2.00 a loaf and go up from there. Ground beef has been cheap lately, under $2.00 a pound. Almonds? Dunno; walnuts are $3 a pound. Almost all apples are indeed .99, along with pears. Grapefruit isn't one of my faves; sorry. Eggs, large $1.49/dozen, but that's the most I've paid in a long, long time.

Mac and cheese is stable at .79 a box, and red potatoes are $2 for a five pound bag.

[Doremus]

29. Sizes on many items are becoming ridiculously small.

I noticed a teeny little box of Life cereal on the grocery shelf yesterday. It would hold no more than a few bowls, and that's being optimistic.

Ice cream "1/2 gallons" hold little more than a quart, and the ice cream in it is all whipped up with air to make it take up more space.

Just a couple of recent observations; I'm sure there are many more, sadly.

[DLnyc]

30. Wow, you clearly don't live in New York City

Butter, meaning cheapest, store, discount brand generally can't be had here for under $4.50 a pound. I will get an exact list of prices later.

[Scurrilous]

31. U.S. Economy: Industrial Production Rises, Inflation Slows

<snip>

"Industrial production in the U.S. increased more than forecast in November and consumer prices slowed, indicating the recovery is gaining momentum without generating inflation.

Output at factories, mines and utilities rose 0.4 percent, the biggest gain since July, after a revised 0.2 percent drop in October, a Federal Reserve report showed today in Washington. The consumer-price index climbed 0.1 percent in November after a 0.2 percent gain the prior month, the Labor Department said.

Assembly lines are speeding up as business investment and exports grow and consumer spending accelerates, helping to buoy an expansion that Fed policy makers said yesterday isn’t strong enough to reduce a jobless rate hovering near 10 percent. Price increases that are below central bankers’ goal will boost the case to maintain the Fed’s purchases of $600 billion in securities through June to spur growth.

"The manufacturing sector continues to heal itself,” said John Herrmann, a senior fixed-income strategist at State Street Global Markets in Boston. “The outlook for business spending on equipment and software remains very positive.” Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke “is unlikely to withdraw accommodation until he sees a clear upward turning point in core inflation and a downward turn in unemployment."

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-15/industrial-production-in-u-s-rises-more-than-forecast-on-electronic-goods.html


Summary Box: Consumer Prices Rise Slightly

Summary Box: Consumer prices barely rise in November as sluggish economy holds back costs

<snip>

"Consumer prices rose 0.1 percent in November, due to small increases in food and energy costs. In the past year, prices are up only 1.1 percent.

LITTLE SIGN OF INFLATION: Outside of the volatile food and energy categories, core consumer prices rose 0.1 percent, the first increase in four months. Core prices are up only 0.8 percent in the past year, just below October's record-low annual increase of 0.6 percent.

NO PRICING POWER: With unemployment high and the economy still sluggish, retailers have little ability to raise prices for fear of chasing away consumers."

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=12405512

[Lyric]

32. Milk has gone down for some reason. It was $3.99 a gallon, and now it's $1.99

Everything else seems to be higher. :(

[noamnety]

33. wow, I've never seen milk that high (3.99)

That would shock me.

[AlabamaLibrul]

35. Prices up, sizes down, but apparently there is no inflation n/t

[Hell Hath No Fury]

36. Up, without a doubt.

I tend to pretty much buy the same things weekly -- one bagful of my groceries was running about $35 a few years ago. Now that same bag is up to $45. It is becoming harder and harder for me to eat with any real quality and variety.

[niyad]

37. going up, definitely--ground turkey from 1.50 pound to 1.99, bacon from 3.50 pound to 4.70 pound,

house brand butter 2.50 to 2.99 pound, house brand milk 1.88 gallon to 2.29 gallon, house brand ibu's 7.30 for 500 count bottle to 8.75, and these are just a few items I noticed last run through my supermarket.

[Horse with no Name]

38. It seems like EVERYTHING is going up

Gas did a funny thing though...it was $3.98 and dropped back down to $3.78.
I guess they are testing the market to see what it will bare.

[grasswire]

39. 10 pound bag russet potatoes 99 cents

bananas 59 cents/pound, heavy cream $2/pint, low-fat cottage cheese pint 2.29. Two pound brick Tillamook monterey jack cheese $6.99. Half gallon Newman's lemonade $2.50. Navel oranges 79 cents/pound. Loaf of sourdough bread sliced $2.98. Best Foods mayo 3.79/30 oz. Ouch.