Food Price Inflation Is One Good Reason To Acquire Food Storage

food-prices-are-up

While looking at recent government statistics regarding the CPI (Consumer Price Index), I notice (as most of you instinctively know) that food prices have been going up much higher than the government acclaimed inflation rate – which they continually tell us is low.

Well the fact is that by even their own numbers, many food prices have increased substantially – even during just this past year.

Here are some examples, and the rationale to build and acquire your own food storage (beyond just a few days or weeks)


 
Egg prices have gone up 21.8%.
Beef and Veal have gone up 12.6%.
Beef roast prices have increased 11.8%.
Beef steaks are now 11.1% higher.
Ground beef has gone up 10.1%.
Salt is up 5.3%.
Sugar is up 4.2%.
Dried beans are up 3.9%.
Chicken has increased 3.7%.
Even hot dogs are up 3.5%.

I could go on and on, but even foods that include rice, bread, lunchmeats, coffee, pasta, spices, and more, are all up substantially…

I am willing to bet that the government numbers listed above are actually lower than the reality in your local grocery store (as in, it’s probably worse than what they are even saying).

The government apparently weights ‘food’ as 14% of their overall calculation of the CPI – although I’ll speculate that many households are affected by more than that based on their weekly and monthly grocery bills…

By the way, apparently (according to the .gov), not all food prices are going up. Apparently (if you believe the numbers of .gov who notoriously warp facts and figures to their own benefit) the price of bacon, ham, pork, fish and seafood (and a few others) have decreased. Does this jive with what you’ve seen in your grocery store? Not sure where they do their grocery shopping… ;)

Source: bls.gov (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

How are they hiding it (food price inflation)? Some increases are so obvious that they cannot hide it while in other instances the manufacturers ‘trick’ you by way of their packaging. That is they may fill the package with less food product, or slightly reduce the (ounces) in their cans and other packages, or add more non-food ingredients (it’s amazing how they can ‘flavor’ just about anything these days).

The fact is that many foods are costing more and more, and their prices are increasing faster than your dollar is devaluing, which is why it is economically and financially prudent to build up a food storage in your home. The more that you stock up today (foods that you normally eat and rotate in and out), the more money you’ll save because it will only cost more next year or next week…

I’m curious to hear your own opinion regarding your perception of increasing food prices particularly during the past year. What items have gone up? Also, regarding packaged foods, have you noticed any changes in packaging?

82 Comments

  1. I have not seen this price increase in food because:

    1.I now raise my own beef and it now costs me about 85 cents per pound to get processed.

    2. Milk from my grass eating cows is so cheap that I give a lot to friends.

    3. Eggs, well, my chickens seem to just give them to me.

    4 Vegetables, my garden seems to give them up for the price of seeds.

    5. Bullets, I load my own.

    Now, all I have to take care of is keeping the government from taking my preps. When they come there will be one hell-of-a fire fight. I am going to be a free man and I am finished taking this socialist $hit.

    1. @ no joke
      I often disagree with you, and you me over the past few months, or more, (and there is always a good respectable/enjoyable discussion), but you said something here that I absolutely 1000% agree with.

      “I am going to be a free man and I am finished taking this socialist $hit.”

      I personally am so friggen sick and tired of what’s going on. I have never in my life been afraid of hard work, but guess what, I sick of “working” so some lazy azzholes can collect “income” from MY WORK. The Gov TAKES and TAKES tax money from me and gives it away, is that right? or is that communism/socialism? Yeah Yeah Yeah, I understand “some” is need, but do we really need Foreign Aid when 80% of the “outside world” wants us dead/gone? Do I need to support someone that CAN work but just will not because they are LAZY!!!? The list is endless.

      The prices of food, clothing, fuel, grid connected services, Taxes, is disgusting. I would love to see a “true” annalists of what the amount of Tax there is on one dollar, once every tax penny is removed, from the time I work that one hour until I walk in the door with that carton of milk. Or how about the amount of Tax that the Gov TAKES to produce, ship, sell/buy, on and on and on, that single carton on milk. The price of food would be 1/10 of the cost in a store if the “total” Tax was removed.

      The price of food is going up, you bet it is, and it will get a LOT worse once California finishes drying up next year. FYI, has anyone seen the prices in a Restaurant lately? That luxury has stopped. $5.50 for a 12 oz. beer, HAHAHAHA that’s NUTS.

      So I’m with you no joke, time to become more and more independent.

      NRP

      1. Crime, that is what taxation is. Supporting slothful people, even those in need, is a crime against humanity. Think about how much money we would have to send to Children’s Hospitals, if a person freely chose to do so, if it were not for taxes. The vast, vast majority of those in need put themselves there by choice not chance. So that should be there problem not ours.

        In closing here is a piece of advice for those that live in town and cannot have animals. Give up meat, eggs, and poultry. I have a new rule, if it has a face or a mother then I don’t eat it. My former lawn is small: 37×16=592sq. ft. After reading an article, gardening by the sq. ft. we went to work, put in 11 planter boxes and the rest is history. When we work it and work it right, it feeds us with nothing but meat lacking. It’s just a thought for those that would like to try it. The benefits go far beyond a virtually non existent grocery bill: Improved health, lost weight, lot’s of fun, and independence. Thanks for the article and blessings to all.

        1. Humans are the first animal in the history of planet Earth to even consider stepping down from the top of the food chain.

        2. SOME people. Not me.
          As an encouragement though, mushrooms are easy to raise, taste good, and have complete protein, all 8 essential amino acids. Easy to buy spawn online.
          If you cannot grow meat, at least mushrooms are an easy substitute.

  2. On the web site “Grandpappy” by Robert Atkins, he has an article on food inflation by calories. He checked out a number of canned foods & found out that even though the can size & price may have remained the same the calories had decreased. Therefore the can of tuna, chicken chunks, corn beef etc must had had more water etc added & hence you were paying up to 33.5 % more fore the calories provided. Very interesting deception. Probably not checked most inflation checkers.

    1. Interesting you mentioned “Tuna” I opened a can of good old Bumble Bee Tuna the other day, and was shocked. So I did a little experiment, I drained the water, and pressed the “extra” water out into a bowl. better than 75% was water or “juice” only 25% was Tuna by weight… Nice huh?
      NRP

    2. Canadagal:

      The same thing is happening in the U.S. too. I have been trying to lose weight and so I keep track of my calories. I have noticed that processed cheese used to have 70 calories per slice and now it only has 60 calories per slice. Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup used to have 2 1/2 servings at 100 calories. Now it has 2 1/2 servings at 90 calories each. Over and over again I think I know how many calories a particular food has and then look at the label of the new package/can I just bought and see I am saving calories.

      Butter is twice what it was just a couple of years ago. Eggs are in short supply and very expensive due to the bird flu.

      A few things have gone down here in our small town. Pork and hamburger are cheaper. For several months, hamburger was up to $3.99/lb for the 15% lean. Today it is on sale for $3.69. Though after recently reading the book “Toxin” by Robin Cook I don’t think I will ever be able to eat hamburger again!

      I bought a bunch of cheddar cheese a few months ago when it was on sale and froze it. Then, when I thawed it, it crumbled when I tried to slice it. It tasted perfectly good though.

      1. Freezing cheese is always a gamble on the crumbling effect. It’s great for cooking, but for grilled cheese sandwich and cheese on a cracker, ahhhhh not so much hehehe
        NRP

        1. I used it for a grilled cheese sandwich. Lots of little crumbles on my bread — all ran together when the little crumbles melted!

      2. check online for cheese wax sources and wax your own that you can store on shelves. The cheese will continue to age and naturally shrink a bit in the process but you’ve saved having to freeze it. You can always re-wax any leftovers and reuse the wax. Youtube has how-to videos.

  3. The wife is not totally onboard with prepping but she can relate to the price of food. We’ve noted that the price of canned salmon has increased by about a dollar a year over the past couple of years. We now have a lot of canned salmon!

  4. In California a gallon of milk costs about as much as a gallon of gasoline. Don’t get me started on a dozen eggs…ridiculous. Chicken at $4 a pound, beef at $5 a pound, canned goods on the rise… Hot dogs are up! How can hotdogs, the best of the slaughterhouse floor, have gone up in price?! ACK!

    Over the past 3 years I began to buy in bulk, partly because of a prepping mentality, partly because I have 3 kids, one who is about to be a teenager. I’m glad I have the extra food, but I didn’t want to dig into my stash for the purposes of daily cosumption until a major event, unless of course, maybe this is the beginning of a major event.

    Regardless, sometimes when I’m at the store I literally say out loud, “Oh my gosh, that’s expensive!” before I even realize that I’ve said it. I don’t know how families are affording the cost to just survive.

    1. @ kinase

      I believe that’s the first step in a finical failure/economic collapse, “I don’t know how families are affording the cost to just survive.” you just hit the nail on the head. Once people “have” to spend hard earned money on the “survival”/everyday living than there is no other commerce being purchased. Hence a “collapse” will soon follow suit.

      NRP

      1. California passed a law requiring any eggs brought into the State be from chickens that have a certain amount of “free range room”. Egg producers all over the country had to comply if they were going to sell eggs to the largest State in the nation. Subsequently, the added cost was passed on to all who buy eggs. Thanks Kalifornia.

        1. largest consumer crowd. largest economy. largest peta chapter. largest trees. largest ego. 3rd largest state. sorry to be so picky.

  5. There are also savings by buying in bulk and by couponing. Most of our stockpile was purchased with coupons. The local grocery doubles coupons so a item on sale for $1 with a 50 cent coupon is free. You can buy extra coupons on eBay and other web sites.

  6. Stock up while its there soon you won’t be able to. Grow what you can it saves money now. Get ready because the worst is yet to come this year or next.

  7. Cheese has gone up about $1 lb in the last year, I would like to find a good way to keep it.

    1. I agree, look into waxing cheese. We waxed cheddar, swiss, parmesan, and romano. Ours was also waxed almost five years ago, stored in our basement where the temperature remains about 60 to 65 degrees. Waxing is only for hard cheeses. If you have ever bought aged cheddar, you know how expensive it can be. Now we age our own, it is the best tasting cheese.

      1. I agree PG, I had a brick of Tillamook Extra Sharp, that I waxed about 3 years ago, opened it for a gathering I had, OMG, talk about improving the flavor….. I did contact Tillamook a few months back, they said it was already coated in wax, but I add 2 extra layers (of wax) to be sure. I have not tried other cheeses but I would expect the same results. The key is to keep it cool and an even temp. I also “turn” it to keep the wax from “sagging”, something I read somewhere to do.

        The key to all of this is to purchase on sale and store it. everyone might also contact restaurant suppliers, a lot of times they will sell overstock rather cheep. Sysco and Shamrock around here both do.

  8. My father and grandfather where both chefs and both said that a sharp rise in the cost of food is the first sign a war is coming. I wonder if they were right?

  9. In our area I have noticed that milk has actually dropped in price, as well as bacon and fish. The fish I suspect it is due to the fact that people are aware of what Fukushima has done to the ocean and like us, have given up fish. The only fish we eat now is the canned tuna that I have in storage that was purchased before the disaster in Japan. Since we buy butter almost weekly, I estimate the price has increased 20% from a year ago. Now if I had put that money in the bank, there is no way I would have earned 20% interest in the past year. So my new banking strategy is to invest in food. Speaking of butter, I bought canned butter about 7 or 8 years ago for less than what I am paying today. I don’t want to go into it until a real disaster hits, so it sits and continues to earn interest.

    1. PG, have you tried (tasted) the canned butter? I have not, was wondering on the quality
      NRP

      1. I have not tried it, but the reviews on this brand were top notch. Although I actually ran out of butter yesterday, as today was our shopping day and I looked at it and considered trying it. I haven’t yet. I know I really should open a can. From time to time, I open a can of something I had never tried before as a test. I think that should be my next test. I will let you know when I do. We did try the canned bacon, awesome stuff. Now I fight not to open a can whenever we run out.

        1. The curious mind wants to know, what Brands, on the Butter and Bacon?
          I have a pile of #10 cans of “butter powder” from Augason Farms. And have been canning my own Bacon. but……

          NRP

        2. You can pressure can your own butter in jars and if you follow the instructions fully, it turns out well. It tends to melt a bit faster and is a bit ‘grainier’ than fresh butter, but still very acceptable. And way cheaper than tinned butter. Katzcradul does an excellent video on it, and there are some good videos on canning your own bacon. Many find they don’t need the parchment paper, and half pint sizes are better to stretch out your supply.

        3. I started canning butter last year and the first batches are now six months old. No difference in flavor, no rancidity. I’m going to keep canning and rotating.

          The flavor is about the same as fresh butter, but the texture is a little different and takes some getting used to. It melts differently.

          I bottled cream cheese as well, and it turned out fabulous. Tastes the same, spreads at room temperature (although it usually doesn’t last long enough after being opened to warm up that far!) and has a hint of a smoky taste.

        4. The canned butter is Red Feather brand (from Australia or NZ), and the canned bacon is Yoders brand

        1. Ohhh, I though PG was talking about something like this —> Red Feather PURE CANNED BUTTER, maybe not.
          NRP

        2. Red Feather canned butter is the brand. I tried powered butter many years ago. I didn’t care for it. I don’t know if they have improved it any, but I am not willing to try again.

        3. I’m curious if there is a posted ‘best buy’ date or some sort of shelf life estimate on your canned butter?

          I’ve tried a few different powdered butter brands, and they vary in flavor. Certainly not as good as the real thing, but for SHTF food preps – it works I suppose.

        4. Okay, I just opened a can to check it out. It taste exactly like the butter I get at the store. There is no “Best by Date”. I don’t know if it is because it comes from New Zealand and they don’t have those kinds of laws or what. The only thing on the can was a code, letters and numbers. Now I am going to have a hard time staying away from the butter when I run out as well.

        5. Only happy to help…. hehehe
          Guess I’m going to keep an eye open, save the Aug Farms stuff for cooking and the like, get some of the “good” stuff for those times sitting around the camp fire sipping on a good Italian Wine, eating Caviar with a few crackers and butter after TSHTF. :-/

        6. Even if you just buy a few cans to save for special occasions like you would a good bottle of brandy. Comfort foods will go a long way to bolster ones spirits when the SHTF. For me, its butter, bacon and coffee. I cringed when I first bought the butter as it was much more expensive that what I was buying in the store, but now I am glad I did.

        7. It’s all about surviving the first 6 months after TSHTF. Ya make it that far, than start rebuilding.
          Life is going to be hard enough all alone with no Bacon. AUGHHHHHH, Don’t talk like that.

          But there is a PERFECT example of food price inflation, you paid $5 per can, it’s now at $10….. Just wait a year it will be $15
          NRP

        8. Okay PG, let us know if you get ‘sick’ tomorrow after having some ;) Then we’ll all know for sure… (just kidding of course)

          That’s great that it tastes exactly the same… Sounds like the price is pretty steep though at nearly $14/lb. according to the price quoted by NRP. But for some products like this (e.g. butter) with a relatively short shelf life (unless frozen) that’s just the way it is… Powdered butter is not cheap either.

        9. OUCH, Amazon.com = Red Feather PURE CANNED BUTTER – 6 cans of 12oz each for $59.00.

        10. Wow, that is food inflation. I had bought it when it was on sale at “Emergency Essentials”. I had bought a case and if I remember correctly it figured out to around $5 plus a can.

        11. I can my own butter. I buy a ton when its on sale and can it. There is a bunch of YouTube videos on the subject.

        12. You can freeze butter. I do it all the time — buy when the price is low.

          I can’t see any difference between unfrozen butter and the butter that comes off the shelf. You can keep it just about forever if you don’t lose your power. I plan to put it in a cooler in my basement if the SHTF

        13. I freeze a lot of sale butter and also pressure can a lot. I want to be ahead if the power goes out for any long period of time and freezers are useless. Although fresh butter can be kept safe and quite cool at all times, within about a year or so it will go moldy, just like any other dairy product. I also forgot to bucket some fresh butter in the basement and the mice had a field day with several pounds of my butter.

        14. Although fresh butter can be kept safe and quite cool at all times, within about a year or so it will go moldy, just like any other dairy product. I also forgot to bucket some fresh butter in the basement and the mice had a field day with several pounds of my butter. Frozen butter is only good as long as you have power.

        15. Thanks for finding that, Melissa! CampingSurvival.com is another long time vendor/sponsor of Modern Survival Blog.

  10. Excellent thoughts people.

    Take advantage of the sales (load up). Everything goes on sale from time to time.

    It’s possible to can almost anything.

    Figure out a way to build a storage area (root cellar) that stays cool and dry.

    Many good deals on line for canned food. Little or no shipping costs.

    Lastly, long term storage products (pricey) but worth it.

    No such thing as too much. It’s not hoarding,,,, it’s thinking.

  11. My husband and I are very picky on how we spend our money. Even so, Jan – April this year we thought it would be a good idea to write down what we spend our money on. I am here to tell you that we were shocked…..we spent most of money on food.( by a large margin to boot) It’s easy to not notice when it’s only a few dollars here and there.

    1. That,,,,, my friend, is the problem. As many here have pointed out it’s not only the increases in cost per can (or whatever) it’s the quality and quantity per can.
      Plant a garden, raise chickens/pigs/whatever.
      What we are seeing here is only the beginning
      NRP
      PS; is anyone else out there seeing a constant increase in Fuel prices? A few cents this week, 5 cents last week….

      1. Yes. A barrel of oil just went down to $48 yet gas prices are going up @#$%&

      2. Here in northern Michigan, gas at Sams club is 2.69. A couple weeks ago it was 3 bucks. The more tourists in town, the higher the gas prices… go figure.

  12. I often wonder how my 26 year old son will be able to afford to feed a family in the years to come.

  13. I’m actually surprised at how many people are surprised at the increase in food prices. Or the prices of anything in general. I saw this coming the moment I saw all the chit chat years ago about raising minimum wages. Now it’s a reality. How did they think they were going to pay all those wages? Duh! It’s not like any company or corporation is going to take a loss or lower their bottom line, they’d rather close their doors first and so would I. You have Walmart, one of the largest private sector employers if not the largest (and now one of the largest grocers), raising their minimum wages. Then you have the whole city of Seattle raising their minimum wage to $15/hour. And many more cities with similar programs in the works or already passed. All this for a livable wage? How’s this for a livable wage, don’t expect to live off of a minimum wage job! Oh well, that battle is already lost. We have to open our eyes for the next battle and next time someone, or everyone, needs to say NO.

    1. Grits, I have just read that the $15 minimum wage is having an adverse effect because now the people who are receiving this are asking for their hours to be cut back so they do not lose any government benefits as they are now making too much money. The FSA just can’t give up their freebies.

      1. Mike K
        Yeah I heard that one too. Also, not long ago a little bit after they first raised it in Seattle, I read an article where they interviewed someone working in the service industry working up there and (long story short) they said they hated the raise because in order to facilitate the mandatory raise the company she worked for had to impose some cuts of their own, like the free parking and daycare services. She said that with the raises she was now taking home less money than she was before because now she has to pay for all that stuff herself. There were other people they interviewed too and all had similar stories about how companies were cutting perks in order to keep in line the mandatory pay raises. The interviews showed the immediate cause and effect of the raises and how people really don’t want them yet the politicians still just don’t get the message and are just moving ahead with their agenda. Minimum wagers are just going to have to get used to the new normal. Now along with those immediate effects they’re starting to see some of the more lasting effects of inflation and I think there will be more to come.

        1. Grits, I just thought of this and maybe another effect on them could be is as they make more money and lose the freebies, they suddenly realize that they now have to help pay for the freebies of the FSA! Wouldn’t that be a good lesson for them to learn.

  14. I have learned how to cut my grocery bill in half. Don’t let the wife go shopping with me!!!!!

    I also have been buying cuts of meat that have no bone and no fat such as pork tenderloin and a beef cut known as shoulder tender steak. If you have to pay, at least be able to eat every bit of it. Glad I have the chickens and the duck. Free range eggs are $4.65 a dozen here. I sell the extras to the neighbors for $2 a dozen to help cover the feed costs. And the mallard hen lays as many eggs as they tend do. Yesterday I closed down the garden and turned the girls loose so they can feed in there to help with bug control. Happy chickens lay more eggs.

    1. I say the same thing about my hubbie! He puts it in the cart, and I go behind him and put it back on the shelf!

  15. Where I live, it’s not so much price increases (not counting extortion prices for meat) as it’s smaller sizes, or, same sized container with less in it. Air space sure commands high prices these days.

    There are less sheets in toilet paper rolls, probably in paper towels (which I rarely buy). I make my own laundry detergent and soap and am stunned when I occasionally check those prices. Same with jams, jellies and canned fruits which I make. Cartons of OJ have shrunk, same with jars of PB. Even boxes of cake mixes have shrunk. Fortunately I make all my own. At the dollar store I used to buy 5 packs of small storage containers, now they’re 3 packs.

  16. Im in washington state and I can tell you everything has gone up ….A dz of eggs are 4.49 that all most five buck cheese 4lbs 10.00 bucks cearl 5.00 bucks the gas over here is not bad like 3.79 gl and the lite and water bill are over a 100.00 buck each and the lite and water bill half of the bill are taxs…I could go on and on but I wont hope all have a good day…..

  17. I have some down filled pillows. I went to buy some more down for them, and now even down is up!

  18. conserva.de ( a german site for longterm food ) sells 96 cans of lightly salted butter for 300 euros not including taxes and shipping. I am not sure if they ship here but that is a fantastic price otherwise. The cans are each 250 grams.

  19. We went grocery shopping this past weekend and didn’t get much stuff and I was overwhelmed and how much our bill was. It was ridiculous. The size and amount have gone down alot but prices have shot through the roof. Our water bill is over $100 a month and it is just 2 of us and we don’t have sewer, just a septic tank. Everything is going up.

    1. Texasgirl, I think this is happening all over (North America), also in Canada. We live in Canada, and have been noticing the VERY same. Shocking prices on groceries.

      Our saving feature (personally), is we have been shopping the sales (preferably stupid cheap spot specials), for a couple of years now (and stocking up). We are close to being at the point where we mostly just shop the sales, preferably stupid cheap ones. We have found even on the weekly sales, there will often only be one item we would consider purchasing, but quite often once in the store there will be a manger’s special worth taking home.

      One thing to watch out for, which has happened in our (not always same one) stores so often, we start to believe it is intentional..

      make certain you get the price at the till, which is marked on the shelf. In the past year, we must have caught the till at least couple dozen times ringing up the incorrect price. (seems dodgy). now usually they price check the shelf and correct, but not always. Then I hand the item back.

  20. Gotta have that coffee!! Was a 16oz bag then 12oz now down to 10oz….for the same price!!!!! Mo money…mo money…less and less stuff inside!!

  21. Coffee- there is a cure for the coffee problem… It is Java Time coffee, available at Big lots for about 5$-6$ a 26 oz. Once you get it, (It is already ground) re-grind it in a food processor to the finest you can. It takes about half what you normally use when you re-grind. store in two small coffee containers, or an air- lock cannister. If you buy more than you can use quickly I recommend grinding all at one time, and securing in vacume pack bags,mason jar or mylar with ox absorber.. I swapped from folgers special blend to this coffee.. and have been using it for several years. amazon has it for almost 9$ a bag…, but it IS a 26 oz bag.. Hope this helps you coffee lovers out there!

  22. In six weeks a can of Spam has increased from $2.89 to $2.99. I bought only 4 cans, I think I’ll go back for more. Dated for 2017 – 2018 sept

  23. I have noticed smaller containers for the same price, or higher. Do they think we won’t notice? My favorite ice cream by Blue Bunny has a new container now and is 10 oz. less and not even filled to the top. Not an important item to have, but I liked it. Now I get so mad if I do buy it, that I do not enjoy it anymore! It’s probably loaded with toxic chemicals anyway. Will be spending the money on important LTS preps instead.

    1. check this one out..

      another way the big companies save money/charge the customer more for less

      there are many “new” products called/designated

      “Light”
      “Whipped”

      what these appear to me to be, is a whipped product, so there is more air, less product, and they can charge more (to boot) for it..

      sometimes it will say whipped, compare the grams to a similar size product and you will most like see less grams for more money

      same thing for “light” products…less calories because there is more air

      both of these will cost more, because they are “special”…yah right

      1. My Dad still tells the story (every every every time it even pretends to fit) about the Campbells soup can that says “New, improved! It pours!”

  24. The consumer price index itself is designed and used in such a way that if a particular product goes up in price they simply substitute another in the same category (such as milk instead of butter, or pencils instead of pens). If the prices in the index are actually going up, that means they haven’t been able to find lower priced substitutes. It says a lot more about the state of our economy than it appears at first glance. It means they’ve reached the limit of their ability to quietly adjust and make everything look rosy.

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