Will the next president help you when it comes to your next trip to the grocery store? Promise after promise is being made to win your vote but each candidate have more than enough to keep their refrigerator and pantry full. America is one of the nations with an OBESITY problem. Will the cost of living make a change in the hefty waistlines? Have you had to put back an item at the grocery store you really wanted in an effort to keep the price at the cash register low? JOIN THE CLUB.
The cost of groceries has become sky high but that's not the worst of it. Manufacturers are manipulating their package sizes, and the quality of their product has changed. Not only can you not afford groceries, what you are buying doesn't taste as good as it once had. What is the consumer to do? It almost feels like we are on a FORCED DIET I call, "I can't afford IT." Will SHRINKFLATION lead to the shrinking of our waistlines?
Without proper notification to the public, manufacturers have switched "ice cream" to "frozen dairy desserts." And boy oh boy is there a difference. It tastes like the MILK is missing, and it is! The higher percentage of milk fat gives ice cream a "rich and creamy texture," but it also adds fat and calories. Meanwhile, frozen dairy desserts often have less milk fat and more air, resulting in a lower fat content and fewer calories. I've noticed it doesn't even melt like real ice cream. CREEPY. These [frozen dairy dessert] products might include additional ingredients like stabilizers and emulsifiers to mimic the texture of ice cream, consequently, while frozen dairy desserts can be a lighter alternative, they may also come with a longer list of additives compared to the straightforward composition of traditional ice cream. To be considered as ice cream, it must have no less than 20 percent total milk solids and no less than 10% milkfat solids, except when it contains milkfat at 1% increments above the 10% minimum. The price of ice cream has soared.
Chip bags have been getting smaller due to a cost-cutting strategy called "shrinkflation". This practice involves keeping the price of a product the same while making it smaller. In some cases, products have shrunk by 25%. For example, Frito-Lay, the parent company of Doritos, reduced the weight of a bag of Doritos from 9.75 ounces to 9.25 ounces, containing about 5 fewer chips. Mondelez International shrunk a family size box of Wheat Thins from 16 ounces to 14 ounces but kept the price the same.
During the State of the Union address, Biden criticized a trend that's gotten the attention of some consumers. "In fact, the snack companies think you won’t notice if they change the size of the bag and put a hell of a lot...fewer chips in it. No, I’m not joking. It’s called 'shrinkflation,'" Biden said. Shrinkflation is a roundabout way for companies to raise prices, said Sudip Datta, finance department chair at the University of Missouri Trulaske School of Business. It's when companies offer less of a product — fewer chips in a bag, smaller candy bars, less toilet paper sheets — but charge the same price. The Right scoffed at Biden for talking about shrinkflation, but shrinkflation IS an enemy of the people. Thank you, Mr. President, for seeing something and SAYING something.
In several chat rooms on the internet, people are questioning whether the flavor of one of my beloved chips, Funyuns, have changed. The reason I stumbled on these chats is because I've noticed Funyuns no longer have the great onion taste which set them apart from other chips. THEY ARE TAKING THE TASTE AWAY from their smaller packaging, same price, items. This is making me a little hot under the collar. Why would they do this to me? To you? There are many Americans on fixed incomes who are not weathering the high prices of groceries well.
The maximum benefit for fixed incomes is $3,822 a month for someone at full retirement age in 2024. Individuals must wait until full retirement age to claim benefits and have been a high earner for 35 years to earn the maximum Social Security benefit. The maximum monthly benefits for SSI, SSDI, and retirement in 2024: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) – The maximum payment is $943 monthly for individuals and $1,415 monthly for couples. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) – The maximum payment is $3,822 a month (up from $3,627 in 2023). With this monthly income, rent, car payment, electricity, car insurance, and other bills necessary for daily living must be paid along with their groceries for the month. No simple feat with the weekly price of groceries.
Rank/State/City analyzed (population) Average monthly cost of groceries per person ranked from highest to lowest. I'm from Mississippi. 1 Hawaii,
Honolulu (337,200) $556.76 2 Vermont,
Burlington (42,400) $497.41 3 Alaska,
Anchorage (291,800) $483.24 4 New York,
New York City (8.17M) $482.87 11 Georgia,
Atlanta (420,000) $397.97 12 Alabama,
Birmingham (212,200) $397.39 16 Delaware,
Wilmington (70,800) $380.39 17 Oregon,
Portland (583,800) $375.41 18 Maine,
Portland (66,200) $372.21 20 Florida,
Jacksonville (880,600) $364.25 21 Iowa,
Des Moines (215,500) $347.05 22 Oklahoma,
Oklahoma City (580,000) $346.37 24 Wyoming,
Cheyenne (59,400) $345.62 26 Maryland, Baltimore (620,900) $343.67
28 Ohio,
Columbus (879,200) $341.48 36 Montana,
Billings (104,100) $323.91 37 Indiana,
Indianapolis (820,400) $318.03 38 Kentucky,
Louisville (597,300) $315.20 41 Arizona,
Phoenix (1.44M) $302.80 42 Virginia,
Virginia Beach (438,000) $298.01 43 Nevada,
Las Vegas (583,700) $293.43 44 Texas,
Houston (2.10M) $286.64 46 Arkansas,
Little Rock (193,500) $282.46 47 Utah,
Salt Lake City (186,400) $282.23 48 Idaho,
Boise (205,700) $281.12 49 Kansas, Witchita (382,400) $261.35
I don't know about you, but these totals are MORE like my WEEKLY total for groceries, but I'm a family of three. Like I said, it seems like I'm being put on a forced diet, but we know HEALTHY food cost more than the filler food we choose to buy. According to a recent study by the U.K.'s University of Warwick, fixed costs in the supply chain alone have led to American consumers paying 40% more for fruit and vegetables over a 10-year period. More healthy foods are now TWICE as expensive as less healthy foods. On July 12, 2023, the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2023 (published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and jointly produced with fellow UN agencies) provided the latest estimates of the Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet (CoAHD) indicators. The data reveal that more than 3.1 billion – or 42% of the world’s population – could not afford a healthy diet in 2021. This is an increase of 134 million people compared to 2019, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. New study finds when healthy buying incentives are removed, food consumers choose price over health. If we are choosing PRICE over HEALTH, then our waistlines are still in danger. We are on a forced UNHEALTHY diet. The run-up in food costs began early in the pandemic, when supply-chain snarls and worker shortages collided with rampant demand for groceries. But more recent developments continue to keep prices high. Droughts and extreme heat have dampened production of fruits and vegetables. Why are frozen vegetable prices so high? Blame war, fewer immigrants and California weather, say economists. Frozen vegetable prices are up 18%, on average, over the past year, according to the consumer price index for June 2023. Inflation more broadly hit a 40-year high of 9.1% in mid-2022 but has recently slowed to about 3% as product and labor supply shortages have eased. The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) report suggests the grocery companies were also price-gouging consumers. In 2023, egg prices surged due to the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak, a contagious viral disease among birds. Today, the avian flu continues to persist through 2024, resulting in fluctuations in both demand and supply. The avian flu also affects the supply of chicken. Wheat and flour are encountering significant challenges amid the conflict in Ukraine, widespread famines, and severe droughts. Like wheat and flour, rice supply faces challenges from droughts and extreme weather conditions. India’s government has also enacted recent rice export restrictions on rice, decreasing the rice supply to the U.S. According to the Food Price Outlook report by the USDA, beef prices are expected to rise by 2.2% in 2024, largely due to rising feed costs and water scarcity. According to the USDA, oil prices are predicted to increase by 4.6%. The impact of severe weather on harvests and the Ukrainian conflict are the primary drivers behind these escalating costs. Eating out is more expensive than ever, with a 4.2% increase in the consumer price index for food away from home. Food costs across the board continue to rise, even as inflation slows. A Finance Buzz report found that McDonald's menu prices have doubled since 2014 across popular items more than any other of the analyzed chains including Starbucks, Taco Bell and Wendy's. Between 2014 and 2024, the analyzed chains raised prices by 60%, nearly double the national inflation rate, according to the report.
In my mind things cannot get any worse when it comes to what we can afford to eat, but I tell my children, it's going to be a SURPRISE (unknown) for them at the grocery store in their lifetime. UN statistics: The global population by 2050 will reach 10 billion. By 2050, cultivated meat, high-protein insects, seaweed and algae, and allergen-free nuts will be the most sustainable protein sources to support an increasingly growing population. Women are more likely to suffer from hunger and malnourishment than men. Sixty percent of food-insecure people in the world are women and girls.
What are WE to do? I know my shopping habits have changed. Food items I once would never purchase because they were not the POPULAR named brand are now in my grocery cart. Sometimes, I just can't purchase the OFF-BRAND item, and do without. I'm sure I am not the only one. Here are a few suggested tips to help you while you are on your FORCED ECONOMIC DIET.
Buy from discount grocery stores (e.g., Aldi or Trader Joes)
Use supermarket websites to compare the prices of different stores
Create a weekly meal plan so you only buy what you need
Stick to your grocery list and don’t buy extras
Eat your leftovers instead of making new meals
Clip coupons and look for discount codes
Buy in bulk for cheaper, wholesale prices
Choose the store brand
Create your own sauces and spice mixes at home
Grow your own garden vegetables and herbs
There is a famous quote, "If you can beat them, join them." Instead of the grocery store STRUGGLE, decide to put your health first. Eliminate the FAKE ice creams. Pass by the less-than-seasoned chips and choose more vegetables over the pricy meats. Choose exercise to keep your mind off of mindless eating and snacking habits. Instead of giving food prices the MIDDLE FINGER, give it a REVENGE BODY. Get in shape, garden for the mind and body, and leave their "SHRINKFLATION" products on the shelf. If you're going to be on a FORCED DIET due to high food prices, do it on your own terms.
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