News

May 10, 2023

Inflation has made food costs a larger part of household budgets

Meanwhile, at the checkout counter… “I’m sorry,” I said, holding up a package of

Meanwhile, at the checkout counter…

"I’m sorry," I said, holding up a package of bright orange cheese, "but how much is this? I didn't see a price."

A short woman with a thick accent, thick glasses, thick wrists and thinning hair squinted at the package, scanned the code and said "$6.99."

I shook my head in disbelief. "That's impossible," I said. "Seven dollars? For eight ounces of cheese? How can that be?"

"It's probably imported," she whispered.

"It's American cheese," I said. "Where are we importing it from? Oklahoma?"

The woman behind me chimed in: "Probably China. That's where they make American flags now, isn't it?"

"Oh, that's just a rumor," I chimed back. "Only about six percent of our flags are made in other countries. The other 94 percent are made right here."

"Well, that's a relief," she muttered.

"Yes, but plenty of other things aren't made here anymore." I added. "I just read about it the other day. According to Business Insider, we no longer make our own Gerber baby food, Converse sneakers, rebar, minivans or Etch-a-Sketches."

The man at the next checkout counter sighed. "You’re kidding! I loved my Etch-a-Sketch! It was such a fun toy."

"And super educational," I added. "You spend hours making a beautiful picture and then your brother turns it upside down and erases the whole thing. It's one of the few toys that teach children to accept pain, betrayal and crushing disappointment."

"So true," he replied, sobbing over the conveyor belt.

More:We accompanied a local fishmonger to the new Fulton Fish Market. Here's what we found

Speaking of pain, betrayal and disappointment: What else is happening in our grocery stores when I’m not there to spark all these clever conversations?

Last week, I left my favorite grocery store with three half-filled tote bags of groceries and the total came to just over $100.

FOR THREE BAGS.

How is this possible? I’ve been economizing. I’ve even been — eek! — comparison-shopping, something I’ve done before.

And I’m still spending a fortune.

Mind you, it wasn't until I got home and looked over my receipt that I realized I’d spent $13.99 on a bottle of NyQuil.

Yikes!

Is that how much cough syrup costs? Didn't it used to be $3?

Another two items also cost about three times more than I thought they would.

More:NJ's gas prices have dropped of late but could approach $4 a gallon this summer

I hate to admit this, but for years I had no idea what anything cost. And I didn't care, either.

If I needed something, I bought it and took it home. If I was hungry, I ate it. If it stayed in the fridge too long, I threw it away and bought another one.

After all, I lived alone. I was working. I had cash in my pocket. And I could afford most things I wanted.

But then I retired. And, as you may have heard, that transition is a whole lot of fun.

Every morning around 3 a.m. I would wake up in a cold sweat and scream, "What have I done? I have no job! I have no salary! I’m going to starve to death!"

Then I would usually eat something and go back to sleep.

My agony at the grocery store checkout was repeated two days later at the pet store, when I reached for a bag of my dog's favorite dry food and saw a $22.99 price tag. Last year, this same bag of food was $18.99. And three years ago, it was $11.99.

My first impulse was to put the bag back on the shelf. But what would that accomplish?

I imagined coming home empty-handed and telling Charly, "How would you like to roam around at night looking for you own food, like the dogs in all those heartwarming Disney cartoons? Who knows? Maybe you’ll meet a cute boy dog and have spaghetti and meatballs behind some nice Italian restaurant."

Nah.

I eventually bought two bags of food for her, went home and had a good cry.

Later that night, I met some friends for dinner at a trendy new Mexican restaurant they wanted to try, because the food was supposed to be tasty, inventive and inexpensive.

"So, are grocery prices every going to come down," one friend asked over dinner, "or is this going to go on forever? I mean, I understand the whole supply chain thing. But this has to stop sometime, doesn't it?"

"Prices never come down," another friend noted, "unless people stop buying stuff, which they won't. Are you going to make your own cheese? Raise your own chickens? That's why I eat out. Restaurants are cheaper."

"Oh, I don't know," I said. "I had breakfast in a diner last month and it cost me $19. That's insane! This place tonight seems pretty cheap, though. And this white sangria is delicious. And, it's only…"

I looked at the menu and gasped. One glass of sangria was $14!

Are they kidding?

I could buy a whole bottle of NyQuil for that.