Hannaford $16.39 — Seriously, when did real food get so expensive? Do you ever just stop and stare at the prices they are charging for common vegetables and totally unprocessed foods at the grocery store these days?
And can someone finally answer the question of why totally processed food is crazy cheap in comparison? As in companies actually charge LESS for time consuming and {often} unhealthy food with heavily advertised packaging?
Just add it to the list of things that make me crazy. I don’t get it.
Bailey’s Orchard $32.25 {about $1.25 a pound for U-Pick apples}
Oddly enough, I don’t mind handing my pesos over to the person who actually grew the food I am buying. In fact, I actually enjoy it.
I enjoy being able to see the pride in their face and knowing they feel good about selling the fruit of their labor and that they have set their own price {and are getting it}.
It’s all the middle men and advertising and shopper cards and monkey business in between that I can’t stand.
Shaws $10.42 CRAZY!
When did potatoes get so expensive!? 6 potatoes should not cost over $7!!
Kiln Guy and The Chef stopped by for lunch on saturday, I made baked potatoes. Not because I’m cheap, but because who doesn’t love a loaded baked potato?
Or a pot of loaded baked potato soup made with the leftovers the next day?
I love soup. Have I mentioned that before?
I also made a batch of copy cat Panera tomato soup last week. We still have about 16 cans of tomatoes I need to use up this winter so I suspect I’ll be making some more of it again soon.
I also made a few egg and cheese english muffins on the AGA griddle.
And pulled the last tub of sweet and sour meatballs from the freezer.
There was the last freezer meal lasagna too.
And there were also weenies with the last jar of green tomato piccalili.
Last but not least … Look at what we have here. Homegrown Maine tomatoes… in OCTOBER!
Can you believe it!? Are YOU still harvesting tomatoes? Curious minds want to know.
Also, what are YOU making these days? Anything good? And what is your favorite thing to make with butternut squash? I’m thinking about going back for a few more… They’re on sale this week for $0.79 a pound.
Have a good one,
~Mavis
Total Spent This Past Week on Groceries $59.06
- Total Spent in September on Groceries $109.49
- Total Spent in August for Groceries $13.04
- Total Spent on Groceries for July $376.89
- Total Spent on Groceries in June $41.56
- Total Spent on Groceries in May $288.51
- Total Spent on Groceries in April $35.36
- Total Spent on Groceries in March $82.28
- Total Spent on Groceries in February $101.14
- Total Spent on Groceries in January $167.33 {this includes buying groceries on Fair Isle}
- Total Spent on Groceries in 2023 $1,222.14 for our $100 a month grocery budget for 2
Brianna says
I bought butternut squash at Costco…..it was recalled. I have had so many recalls on produce and frozen fruits and vegetables from Costco over the years, I really am questioning if it it even worth the risk. My mother got very sick (Listeria) off of fresh peaches from there several years ago, they made the recall after she was hospitalized. I am starting to think buying produce from a more local source is probably safer, even if it costs more. I did a CSA several years ago and never had any problems other than finding a few caterpillars and insects when I cleaned the produce.
I got upset at the cart helper at Costco the other day because I always leave any produce I buy in the cart for them to use the hand scanner and he put it on the belt….right in the wet spot left behind by the packaged pork chops the lady ahead of me purchased. It was my blueberries sitting in that nastiness and all I could think about was the clamshell and the open vents and contamination. I told them I didn’t want those blueberries anymore because of them sitting in meat juices. He wiped the package off with a wet wipe and gave them to someone to restock. Now I will be using self checkout even if I have a cart full.
On another note, I watched a lady at the grocery store place a whole pineapple in a plastic produce bag. I was shocked not only by the fact she bagged her pineapple, which I have never thought necessary, but how she easily bagged it without ripping a hole in those flimsy thin bags. She also bagged her lime (single) and bananas. I guess some people bag anything produce. Maybe I should up my bagging produce game and bag my blueberry clamshell and pineapple at Costco next time, they have bags in the meat department.
Jeanine says
The Costco worker at the checkout stand told me she would get in trouble if my food was left in the cart during checkout. Her supervisor wants all small items on the conveyor belt. I couldn’t argue with her because it is her job.
Julie V says
My mouth dropped, what a dummy that store clerk was… cross contamination and his action could make someone ill.
Julie says
I reuse my plastic produce bags a few times at the stores. As long as they aren’t wet, I find I can get a few extra uses out of them. I just stick them in my reusable bags that I take into the stores. Otherwise, I save them for cleaning up after the dog. I also add any produce that is sold by each in the same bag. For example, I put bell peppers, lemons, limes and green onions in the same bag. If produce is sold by the pound then it needs a separate bag. That saves a few bags and I don’t have to worry about anything getting gross on the checkout belt.
Mary says
That is way too much for potatoes and sour cream at Shaws – I last paid $1.99 for a bag of potatoes and got the Lucerne sour cream for 1.79. Those are Derby Vt prices ,and if I go to the Shaws in Littleton, NH prices are even lower. Also enjoying a basket of fresh tomatoes this late in the season!
LDA says
I’ve had avocado oil & potatoes on my grocery list for 2 weeks now. The prices at Kroger have been more than I want/plan to spend. A trip to Aldi is planned this week to get those items.
Jamie says
I saw a small container of blueberries yesterday for 7.99!!!! I laughed out loud in the store.
Kris says
I am in Eastern Oregon and that was the same price I encountered yesterday for the smallest container of blueberries too, not organic, nor fancy. Insane.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks says
I agree! One pound of carrots used to be .79# but a 2# bag was .99#, so .50#. Now they are all .99# regardless of the size of the package. Potatoes used to be .50#. The best I’ve gotten lately is .60# but they run .80-.99 usually. The cheapest I’ve seen winter squash is .99#, so that’s a deal you’ve got. And as you point out, for real, unprocessed food. I’ve not been successful with carrots in the past, but I’m going to give it another go!
Susan says
Yes! Give those carrots another go!
We never have any luck with carrots, but had some older seed packets so we figured, why not?
Got the most beautiful carrots and they are WAY better than any store bought .
Plus you can use the tops for pesto or dehydrate and use to garnish soups or salad.
You never know year to year what will be a success and what wont. You just have to be ok with whatever happens. There are surprises either way.
Karen says
Also keep the soil super moist to germinate the seeds. It’s daily watering for me usually until they get going.
Karen says
I’m in central Illinois zone 5b and I start my carrots in July and harvest end of October… sometimes I need to cover them if it is getting cold, but the light frosts make them sweeter. They aren’t as sweet planted in spring and harvested in summer for me. Maybe a fall crop would work better for you too?
Elle says
Yes whole food is expensive. I sure hope the farmer’s are getting a reasonable portion of that $. I buy a CSA share from our local favorite family. They pay fair wage to their team. This year I paid $1300 for mid-May through early-December weekly pickup. Every week I put at least 2 items into the freezer blanched and vacuum sealed. This past year I didn’t need to purchase veg until March.
Is it cheap? Nope. Is it fresh, raised with care and 100% going to local families? Yes. I buy my grass-fed beef local and I buy wild sockeye salmon from a local family who goes to Alaska for 4 months and their 2 children LOVE the life!
I know I am Blessed to be able to afford this and not everyone can. But those cheap packaged “foods” are not food. I can junk out with the best of people sometimes, but I don’t live on it.
As for my garden…..it is ON here in the NorthWest and of course, temps have dropped so rippening/growing has slowed. My tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, squash plants are loaded with baby food. I’ve pruned away everything above the last actual fruit and hope to harvest for another 3 weeks. My 14cf freezer is already 95% full and I’ve canned all the salsa we’ll need so I’m going to have to get creative. But I take no food for granted!
Happy Monday ya’ll 🙂
Samantha says
I ran out to our local farm stand yesterday. He had just advertised on Thursday he had gotten in a full pallet of baking potatoes and was selling them for $23.50 a 50#case. I thought I had plenty of time. Nope….she told me they flew out the door within hours. She had never seen anything like it! The cost has gone up so much people are keeping a close eye for any deals they can find. I will need to move faster next time
Sanantha says
Have you tried giving your produce a quick soak in a vinegar and water bath? It is supposed to help kill anything bad that may lurk…..
KC says
Surface disinfectant works fine for anything contaminated only on the surface (if your raw chicken dripped on your apples; although I’d honestly use a bleach solution soak rather than vinegar since it is more rapidly effective and I’m not sure how long it takes for even straight vinegar to kill off something like salmonella or e. coli). There have been some number of recalls due to internally-contaminated produce, though, in the last decade or so especially. Usually occurs when livestock runoff from another establishment contaminates the water used to irrigate plants; I thought plants filtered bacteria out, but apparently not always!
If the whatever-it-is that might have bacterial contamination (someone elsewhere in the page noted a butternut squash recall?) is going to be cooked as thoroughly as you’d cook raw hamburger, the heat should take care of it, though (but don’t use the same cutting board afterwards for salad before washing it thoroughly!). And if it’s chemically or mechanically contaminated rather than bacteria-based, cooking isn’t going to do the trick: throwing it out is the only option.
The CDC has a helpful page about food safety, including a list of recent recalls and reasons: https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/index.html
Rosemary says
Right now, I have green beans in the garden –almost ready to harvest. My cucumber plant only has one large cucumber. My pumpkin plant finally has flowers, so I am hoping for a pumpkin or two. I planted everything in August – it is a test to see if a “2nd growing season” will work for me.
I bought potatoes last week at Publix – 3.99 for 5 lbs of russet potatoes. That price was the cheapest that I have seen in quite a while. I am planning on trying to grow potatoes in the garden next year.
My biggest pet peeve is that the size of the food items is shrinking. Name brands of pasta are 12 ounces instead of 16 ounces and the price is higher. I do have a pasta machine (that I haven’t used in ages) – might be time to dust it off!
I have not eaten butternut squash, but I love acorn squash – baked in the oven with butter and brown sugar. Yum! Today I am having chicken parmigiana with a side of pasta. I cooked several chicken breasts a couple of weeks and frozen them. Now, all I have to do is add some spaghetti sauce and mozzarella and bake until the mozzarella melts. Easy peasy!
Idella says
Processed food is so much cheaper because the cost of the raw materials (corn, soy, factory-farmed meat) is low, AND the government subsidizes those crops to keep the cost low. This lets major food processors like Nestle, Unilever and P&G have cheap raw materials. They then process those materials in factories at a massive scale, converting them to products like modified food starch, emulsifiers and other materials that have the nutrients stripped out but are much easier for them to handle. They can add vitamins in at the end for less cost.
Cheap processed food is a logical result of the way our food system is structured. The government doesn’t subsidize fruit and vegetable growers in the same way as corn, soy and wheat farmers.
Source: I grew up in agriculture and have worked in manufacturing for 25+ years. I know how ultra processed foods are created and try very hard not to buy them.
In other news, we are still harvesting tomatoes and green beans in Colorado (elevation 6300 ft) but I think this will be the last week – it’s starting to get colder.
CherylV says
There is a book called Ultra Processed People by Chris van Tulleken that goes into great detail about what is in our food and why. Even though I knew some of what you’re talking about, I was still shocked at what I was reading.
KC says
YEP. Bulk scale, specific subsidies, more mechanized harvest, etc. and less human time needed.
And then you layer on “consumer price tolerance” as stores and sellers figure out how much, exactly, customers will put up with in addition to the actual increased upstream costs due to fuel costs or supply chain problems. That’s the especially vile part, to my mind, when people are struggling: figuring out whether people will in fact keep buying basic food if you increase your already-adequate profit margins and go for record profit margins. (I’m okay with “market value” and nearly whatever profit margin you can talk people out of for fully-optional luxury goods like lobster or especially fancy cuts of meat, but the food pantry and produce-section lowest-cost basics: nope. Be humane.)
Part of me also wonders whether some of the processed foods are remaining at the normal profit margins instead of the new “improved” profit margins to establish a more-solid customer base for future leverage; there is very little brand loyalty among customers of potatoes, but crackers or cookies or brands of ramen… But I don’t know.
Sue in SoCal says
Please tell the Lays people that it is cheaper to make their Fritos product. The price on the bag is $5.69! What?!? Are they serious? My BH loves his chips at lunch but I’ve told him unless they’re on sale he’s out of luck! And between you and me he shouldn’t be eating them anyway. Shh!
Lana says
Yes, on the October produce! Hubby brought in a double handful of grape tomatoes, a huge bowl of green beans and about ten peppers this morning.
We buy mostly real food and I spent more in September on food than I have in years in one month. We are constantly shocked at prices and one item in particular that we buy most weeks went from $4.65 to 6.98 in one week. We are shopping the loss leaders all over town to keep our pantry supplied.
JamieH says
I just walked past the potatoes at Publix over the weekend. $12.98 for a 10lb bag of russets. Thanks but no thanks.
I’m totally ready for pot-roast season but alas, it may be October but it is still very warm here in the Southeast.
Julie V says
I just made 4 jars of pickled peppers rings this morning. I’m still harvesting raspberries, hot peppers, herbs, and a bit of swiss chard.
Ida says
I’m in Canada, close to Ottawa, and prices here are also skyhigh. What really makes me cranky is when they increase the price AND shrink the size, like you wouldn’t notice or care that you’re paying twice the price for less. Thankfully we’ve had a pretty good garden year, so I’m tucking away as much food as I possibly can for the winter. So far I’ve harvested 175lbs (which is a lot for me), but we’re still getting tomatoes, beans, peas, chard, and beets. Also hoping the broccoli will finally start producing anything but leaves, but if that’s all we get I’ll make that edible too at some point!
Holley says
All I see when I look at your beautiful plate of tomatoes is a fried green tomato sandwich in your future!!! Enjoy your bounty!
I had an early morning doctors appointment pretty far away from my house. So I used the opportunity to go to Trader Joe’s and Aldi. My grandchildren love those little tiny chocolate chip cookies that come in a plastic tub from TJ’s. My daughter asked me to pick up three. I remember them being $2.99. And, then, $3.99. They are $5.49 now!!!! That’s absolutely insane!
I did score some really inexpensive avocados and potatoes at Aldi though! So that was a win! Every week is a different scary story in the supermarket! At least gas went down here!
Bonnie Baine says
the best idea is to keep a stocked pantry and freezer. i do not believe prices are going down. this year my freezer is full, cannot even put in a loaf of bread. and i have used up all my canning jars and got more from a friend. there may come a time when we may need to help feed our family and friends. i’m done canning except for some rotel when my poblano peppers are ready. just canned up sauerkraut that i had fermenting and some meals in jars, sausage, kale soup and vegetable soup. there is a great blog called thebluebirdsarenestingonthefarm.blogspot that has some wonderrful ideas for homemaking and all kinds of info. she has an idea for making reusable produce bags from netting. they are great. hope you can use some of her ideas. she is from australia and has people commenting from all over the country. enjoy, bonnie
Lynn from NC Outer Banks says
I bought some reusable produce bags that are made of netting 10 years ago, and they are still going strong. (I also bought mesh material to sew some more, which remains in my craft space..I’m not as good with goals as Mavis). I enjoy using them, along with my larger reusable grocery bags and boxes. I highly recommend them.
Marie says
I agree! I added a cotton “bottom” on my re useable net produce bags for their trip down the conveyor belt. I too have LOTS of netting and taught my 12 yr old granddaughter to serge the side seams while I attach the drawstrings. We laugh, snack on M&Ms and feel like we are changing the planet one bag at a time.
Carol says
Still getting lots of tomatoes here in Iowa. Temps still in the eighties with overnights in the fifties this week. Figure we’ll be harvesting until first frost.
Couldn’t tell if my watermelon was ready and it ended up going to the chickens because it was overripe. 2 still on the vine that I’m hoping will be “just right”. I did harvest some potatoes mostly small. Not enough to get us through winter. I’ll have to look at store prices. I was buying 10# bags of smaller for $3.99 and bakers individually at $1.29 per pound
Everything else is done for the year. Now it’s just cleanup.
Julie says
Your watermelon should be perfect when the curlycue closest to the melon is dried up….. it starts drying from the tip end, and eventually gets to the big stem. Try it with the next ones!
Carol says
Thanks
Ashley Bananas says
I’ve been spending so much on groceries lately I’m considering putting myself on a cash envelope system. Prices are just crazy lately.
Mrs. C. says
Our COSTCO stoped carrying cottage cheese about 8 months ago. They recently told us that it is a permanent decision.That’s crazy.
Poppy says
Still harvesting tomatoes in Chicago. Cherry tomatoes are done, but the larger and roma varieties are still ripening. I’ll pull them off the vine if I see they’re about halfway ripe and finish them on my windowsill. I also paid too much for potatoes recently: about $7.50 for a little over 3 lbs of conventional red potatoes.
Heidi N. says
Some cherry tomatoes still coming in. Yes, grocery prices seem to get higher & higher with every shopping trip!
Sue R. says
Here in the PNW we still have some tomatoes, green beans, peppers, raspberries and fall squash. This was a bumper crop year for apples, pears, and plums. From our one relatively young Honey Crisp tree, we picked 140+ pounds! Grateful!
Patti says
I think we in the US have been blessed with very cheap food for a long time. In the 1960s food was much higher in comparison (meaning the percentage of your paycheck). People didn’t eat many snacks or extras and certainly never ate out. We didn’t have the grocery stores we have today with so much to choose from. I really think our citizens have no idea what it used to be like and what abundance we have here in comparison to other countries food availability. We are beyond blessed to have ANY food we want at any time … and the obesity rates to go with it. To help me eat reasonably, I shop seasonally, Ie: Buy fall produce in the fall when they are plentiful and much cheaper. Shop locally to get the freshest but know that there is no way our whole world could eat if we didn’t have the mega farms we have. Plan my meals to use up every bit of food I bring home. Look for and accept free or cheap items such as the two jars of jam a friend just offered me. We have a food gathering group that has boxes of vegetables for $15 a week – this product is donated from our local farmers as gleaning (produce no one wants at the store). One girl started it to help the poor and now so much is donated, it is available for anyone in the county. I also plan our meals carefully and try to use up everything in my refrigerator/freezer/pantry before it goes bad. And we grow our vegetables. Right now we have some tomatoes and lots of green peppers. The new food prices really haven’t made a difference in our house. We spend the same amount per month. When something goes up too high for our budget, I switch to a cheaper alternative. I hope I don’t sound like a goody-goody – I have a Home Economics degree and am a retired County Extension Agent so I have skills to do this.
Julie says
No, you don’t sound like a goody-goody……but like a wise, lady that we all can learn from!!
Patti says
If you want more information on the program about food gleaning/sharing I shared in my first comment, you can check out their website. I had a few things wrong: the boxes are every two weeks and they now charge $20 for a box unless you have SNAP and then it is $5. https://ruthsgleanings.com/foodshare/
Best part: one person saw the need and started this herself. It has grown exponentially!
KC says
I love that!
Where my parents live, there’s a harvest/donate organization so people with fruit trees can contact volunteers to pick their excess fresh produce – the volunteers get some, the owners get some, the food bank gets some, and it’s a win-win-win for elderly people with 20ft tall plum trees, for instance. 🙂
(in other words, if we work hard and help each other, sometimes we *can* have nice things that would get wasted/discarded when profit/efficiency are the sole goals!)
Lainey says
Autumn harvest butternut squash and roasted walnut pasta…mmmm I need to make some soon!
Mrs M. says
We made a quick trip to Walmart yesterday evening for a few things and gas… I know my husband got tired of hearing me say, “Can you believe the price of this!?” But, I can’t believe the prices!
Potatoes were one of the items we discussed.
Mrs M. says
Oh, and we’re finally getting tomatoes! This summer was too hot for the blooms to set. We watered and waited, and now we’re getting about a handful of Sungolds every day. We still have an occasional cucumber and squash.
Our pumpkins and watermelons are looking good. But, we planted them late so idk if they’ll have time to ripen.
Terry McA says
The price of produce is the main reason I had a garden this year! I didn’t grow much, but what I lacked, my mother planted herself. She is still pulling beautiful tomatoes and acorn squash from her garden.
Mid-November is when I usually do my stocking up for winter, Aldi (and my favorite Polish butcher) here I come! I will be stocking up on canned veggies and necessities to get me to spring, as well as half a cow, a couple dozen chickens, and a whole pig. I am counting down the days.
This week it is egg roll in a bowl, tuna pasta (a request from my son), pork tenderloin and potatoes, as well as Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole for Dad’s birthday celebration this weekend. He turns 86, and has requested the casserole and baking powder biscuits. I’ll make extra biscuits to go with the leftover lamb stew we have from last week.
Have a wonderful week!
As a side note, I use extra grocery bags, and even the little produce bags, to both clean the litter boxes and for scraps when I am chopping veggies (especially onions). This cuts down on the smell in the garbage can.
Jeri Cleveland says
What am I making? Well, we were given a very large zucchini recently. I made the mandatory chocolate zucchini cake, but still had half of the zucchini left. This morning my husband made zucchini bread using the A-Z bread recipe that makes 2 loaves. I’ve used this recipe for probably close to 45 years! It’s a great recipe, with standard ingredients, and 2 cups of anything from the list from A-Z! I’ve made some crazy concoctions with this recipe, and they always work, (With the exception of delicious lemon blueberry loaves, that always get big cracks on the top, and the blueberries always sink to the bottom. But it’s the best tasting bread!)
Back to the zucchini…, there’s still more left, so tomorrow we will be making more bread!