Food Prices Will Keep Rising. How Will You Cope?

By , SparkPeople Blogger
We've all seen our food bills rising for months. The outlook doesn't look good, according to this article.

Food prices will continue to rise:
Meat, poultry and fish will rise 3%. Fruits and veg will rise 5.5%. And the USDA has forecasted surges of 9.5% for cereals and bakery products, 14% for eggs and 13.5% for fats and oils. Food prices haven't increased this much in 18 years!
It's not just in the U.S. The UK and pretty much everywhere else in the world is facing the same problem.

(On a side note, if you're interested in comparing the average weekly diet in various countries, check out this slideshow. It's very interesting!)

Aside from eating less, what can or will you do to save money on food?

I, for one, am even more diligent about hitting the bulk bins for any food item I can, and I'm cutting back on the treats. I'm trying to stock up on farmers market produce and freezing as much of it as possible. (Last night I roasted red peppers; two weeks ago, I chopped and froze tomatoes.)

Here are some tips from SparkPeople members:
    "Eating whole foods is cheaper than eating processed foods. You can get a couple bags of chips for the same price as a 5 pound bag of apples. A cantaloupe costs as much as two chocolate bars, and you can get a box of Cream of Wheat for the price of a fast food meal."
    --OLIVEME

    "Dry beans are a great, cheap source of protein and fiber. Once you soak them overnight, they cook quickly."
    --WYLDMOONWOMAN

    "I've stopped using coupons on most groceries because they evened out the prices on a more expensive brand or tempted me to buy things I didn't need."
    --ANARIE

    "At the store we buy from bulk bins as much as we can, even buying teas, spices, and granola. We have a coffee grinder we use to grind whole spices, so we don't get both a whole and ground version of the same spice. We reuse our own spice jars, filling it up from the bulk bins."
    --TRILLIANTOO

Find out more ways that members save money on groceries, and share additional tips below in the comments section.

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