FOOD PRICES ARE GOING UP - LOOK FOR GREAT HOLIDAY SALES AND STOCK UP

I'm sure you have noticed how your grocery dollar isn't going as far.  I read this today and thought I would pass it on.


"Wholesale food prices are “on pace to post their strongest annual increase in more than three decades. The cost of food is already up 7.8% this year. The 0.6% jump from August to September was the fourth consecutive monthly increase in prices and the 13th in 15 months. If the trend holds, wholesale food prices will have soared 26% in five years. Consumers will see the bulk of that price hike in grocery stores, where food items such as dairy, apples and eggs are 6.3% more expensive than they were 12 months ago. That’s the largest swell in nearly three years.

Restaurant menus are also reflecting the steep prices, which rose 2.6% over the past 12 months.

"Analysts say supermarkets will start passing price increases onto consumers slowly and quietly. "Most retailers have been reluctant to raise prices up until now and have eaten up the higher raw material costs," says Michael Keara, an equity analyst for Morningstar. "But they will start." Although food commodity prices have been climbing steadily this year, grocery stores have held off because they don't want to scare price-sensitive customers. However, expect to see supermarket prices edging up in six to nine months, he says.

Consumers watching their wallets may also want to keep a closer eye on package sizes for their favorite foods. Keara says the jumps in wholesale and producer costs are so high that manufacturers are likely to cut quantity as a way of disguising price hikes. In other words, start making a note of how many ounces you get in your six-pack of your favorite granola bars. "They don't want to shock consumers," he says, noting that increases over 5% hurts sales volumes."

Try to save a little from your budget over the next weeks to spend when the holiday sales start.   The holiday sales are great times to stock up on all those things you need to cook from "scratch".  The best prices of the year can be found on baking ingredients, that includes butter (you can freeze butter and cheese).  I have a deep freeze and often buy about 10 turkeys during the Thanksgiving sales (cheaper than chicken per pound)   I unfreeze one  and we get several meals from that "sale turkey" each month.  




 Don't forget the chocolate; all that Halloween candy will be 50%, Nov. 1.  Hit the stores early (chocolate can be frozen for a year - sugar candy has a longer shelf life than that) and use it until next Halloween - great for all those activities that ask for candy donations.