“I used to go through the store and pick whatever we wanted,” Ms. Brown said.
But not any more. “If it’s on sale, we’ll pick it up. We’ve changed dramatically. I used to buy the expensive toaster waffles, now it’s the generic,” said Ms. Brown, mother of three.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the annual cost of food for just one person is now more than $3,700.
“That’s like buying a plasma television for each person in your family,” said Dr. Jenna Anding, a nutrition specialist at the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in College Station. “Wouldn’t you know everything about a major expenditure like that before you buy it?”
Some of Dr. Anding’s recommendations sound like common-sense business practices. Take inventory, keep receipts and add them at the end of the month. She also suggests cutting back on the snack foods, soda, chips and cookies.
But some of the best savings on groceries may not be at the checkout stand. Dr. Anding suggests taking a close look behind your pantry door and in the back of the refrigerator. Don’t let good food turn bad.
“The most expensive food you will ever buy is the food you throw away. If you are throwing away that cantaloupe that cost you $2 last week, you are throwing away $2,” Dr. Anding said.
According to records at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, per capita food prices have gone up 14 consecutive years. And 2008 looks to be no exception.
The USDA says they won’t know until August the total flood damage to corn and wheat fields in the Midwest. Estimates range in the millions of acres of cropland damaged or destroyed. All this, and demand for ethanol pushing up corn prices, points to high grocery bills throughout the summer.
Over at the Bell County Temple HELP Center, director Judy Morales said high grocery prices are tough on the folks she sees every day. Some have to forgo health care to purchase groceries.
“The working poor and elderly on fixed income are hit particularly hard,” Ms. Morales said. “It’s boiling down to what choices they have to make.”
