Food Prices ?

[Cinisajoy]

It's hard to say that "things are more expensive" than they were a few years ago without looking item-by-item to see if the cost of those items are really higher. It does seem to be the same sort of thing on both sides of the pond: higher costs seem to be down to what you're spending your money on. And, yes, people do pay for convenience. I wish I could keep up with the food needs for my kids, but they're teenagers, meaning they eat a lot (especially my boy, who always seems to be hungry).

For those of us old enough to remember, frozen food (which were once called "TV dinners") used to be really awful. Now, you can get good quality food in the freezer. It isn't - and never will be - as good as freshly-made food, but it's certainly better than it used to be. I frequently have to supplement a big batch of stew with frozen pizza. And, as much as I feel like I'm failing my children when I do this, I completely understand why the industry has flourished.

I think the children would think you were failing them if you just made twice as much stew.

 

[classic33]

It's hard to say that "things are more expensive" than they were a few years ago without looking item-by-item to see if the cost of those items are really higher. It does seem to be the same sort of thing on both sides of the pond: higher costs seem to be down to what you're spending your money on. And, yes, people do pay for convenience. I wish I could keep up with the food needs for my kids, but they're teenagers, meaning they eat a lot (especially my boy, who always seems to be hungry).

For those of us old enough to remember, frozen food (which were once called "TV dinners") used to be really awful. Now, you can get good quality food in the freezer. It isn't - and never will be - as good as freshly-made food, but it's certainly better than it used to be. I frequently have to supplement a big batch of stew with frozen pizza. And, as much as I feel like I'm failing my children when I do this, I completely understand why the industry has flourished.

Buying frozen food is an option that can sometimes be the only option for some items. What it doesn't mean is that what's bought frozen, is the only option open to you.

Even when making a stew frozen veg can be used, whether you froze your own or bought them frozen.

When you see people bagging one tomato, potato and a few bits & pieces, but paying the price per pound, you do wonder if they know what they're doing.

 

[Cinisajoy]

Buying frozen food is an option that can sometimes be the only option for some items. What it doesn't mean is that what's bought frozen, is the only option open to you.

Even when making a stew frozen veg can be used, whether you froze your own or bought them frozen.

When you see people bagging one tomato, potato and a few bits & pieces, but paying the price per pound, you do wonder if they know what they're doing.

Ok, you just confused me. I don't know about the UK but here all cash registers have scales and you only pay for the amount you buy. Example a jalapeño is 68 cents a pound. One jalapeño will cost you a nickle.
Does your store charge you for a pound even if you get less than a pound?
Oh and the reason is twofold. Some people don't like the stew blends and some people prefer fresh vegetables. Also, it is actually cheaper not to buy the frozen stuff. Note: those frozen stew packages are usually 2/3 whatever the cheapest vegetable is.

 

[Yorky]

When you see people bagging one tomato, potato and a few bits & pieces, but paying the price per pound, you do wonder if they know what they're doing.

I remember being behind a guy in a supermarket till queue back in the UK. He had two tomatoes, two rashers of bacon, two eggs and two sausages.

The teller said "I bet you're single".

"How did you guess that?" he said.

"Because you're ugly!"

[I'll get my coat]

 

[MrsDangermouse]

There's a BBC series call Eat Well For Less on this theme - they take a family with a huge shopping bill (usually because they buy branded and convenience products or they rely on takeaways) and then swap out some of their usual products for cheaper equivalents without them knowing which have been swapped. They also teach them how to cook quick and tasty meals from basic ingredients and show them that it often doesn't take that much time. After the trial period the family have to say whether they thought a particular product had been substituted or not (its amazing the number of times they get it wrong!) and then they're shown how much money they could save by changing their habits - its usually in the £100s.

OK, you do wonder if its all a bit exaggerated for the TV....ie. can people really be that thick? But its good entertainment nonetheless

 

[Morning Glory]

There's a BBC series call Eat Well For Less on this theme - they take a family with a huge shopping bill (usually because they buy branded and convenience products or they rely on takeaways) and then swap out some of their usual products for cheaper equivalents without them knowing which have been swapped. They also teach them how to cook quick and tasty meals from basic ingredients and show them that it often doesn't take that much time. After the trial period the family have to say whether they thought a particular product had been substituted or not (its amazing the number of times they get it wrong!) and then they're shown how much money they could save by changing their habits - its usually in the £100s.

OK, you do wonder if its all a bit exaggerated for the TV....ie. can people really be that thick? But its good entertainment nonetheless

One of my favourite episode featured a couple who bought 'gourmet' ready meals from Waitrose. Their favourite was chicken in some sort of sauce. The package was swapped for an unbranded package. They hated the taste of it and said it even looked horrible. However - it turned out to be the exact same Waitrose chicken meal that was their favourite! Just the outer package had been swapped.

 

[Cinisajoy]

There's a BBC series call Eat Well For Less on this theme - they take a family with a huge shopping bill (usually because they buy branded and convenience products or they rely on takeaways) and then swap out some of their usual products for cheaper equivalents without them knowing which have been swapped. They also teach them how to cook quick and tasty meals from basic ingredients and show them that it often doesn't take that much time. After the trial period the family have to say whether they thought a particular product had been substituted or not (its amazing the number of times they get it wrong!) and then they're shown how much money they could save by changing their habits - its usually in the £100s.

OK, you do wonder if its all a bit exaggerated for the TV....ie. can people really be that thick? But its good entertainment nonetheless

If people weren't so thick, the big manufacturers wouldn't still be in business.

On that note: we were in Albertsons Market last night. We went down the cereal aisle. The two big cereal companies are Post and Kelloggs. Store brand is Signature Kitchens. Most Post cereals were $2.99 and SK was $2.79. Now Kelloggs started at $3.49 and went up from there. It looked like Post had reduced their prices to compete. None were on sale.
So just on cereal without coupons, you are looking at a 20 to 70+ cents saving.
And yes, most SK products are as good or better than the major companies.

 

[Cinisajoy]

Oh on groceries, last night we spent $30.
2 gallons of milk at $2.69 each
Oatmeal cookies 12 for $3.99
8 bags of cereal @ 97 cents each.
4 chickens 21.95-10.75
1 package taco seasoning 15 cents
18 eggs 1.79
Half and half 32 oz free
Aluminum foil 25 feet free.

Note: it looks oddball but except for milk and eggs we shop the sales.

In about August or September, we will probably spend between 200 to 300 on one trip. I think I figured what I have in the freezer right. It may be later than that.

 

[Cinisajoy]

Since we were talking about the price of a chicken in the other thread I thought I would do a little price comparison from US to UK.
The chicken weighs 4.96 pounds or 2.25 kilograms.
The price per pound not on sale is $1.09 or £.84
Total price $5.41 or £4.17
Since it was a buy one get one free, half the cost.
It looks like per kilogram our chickens cost about 40p.
Note: that is high end retail. Or in other words, whole chickens are one of the cheapest foods you can buy.
Chicken breasts are another story.

 

[epicuric]

Since we were talking about the price of a chicken in the other thread I thought I would do a little price comparison from US to UK.
The chicken weighs 4.96 pounds or 2.25 kilograms.
The price per pound not on sale is $1.09 or £.84
Total price $5.41 or £4.17
Since it was a buy one get one free, half the cost.
It looks like per kilogram our chickens cost about 40p.
Note: that is high end retail. Or in other words, whole chickens are one of the cheapest foods you can buy.
Chicken breasts are another story.

Sorry Cin, I just don't understand how chickens can be produced at at cost without serious welfare issues and artificial enhancements.

 

[Cinisajoy]

Sorry Cin, I just don't understand how chickens can be produced at at cost without serious welfare issues and artificial enhancements.

But what is the cost per chicken? Do you have any figures on how much it costs to raise a chicken in a commercial plant? Or would it vary by number of chickens raised?
Just for interesting trivia, I looked up the company that processed my particular chicken.
They have over 4,000 farms in the US and Mexico. They process 34 million birds per week.
More information:
http://www.pilgrims.com/our-company/about-us.aspx
Tyson is the largest processor with 54 plants and they do 42.5 million chickens a week.
Now unless the chicken is cut into specific pieces, everything is automated so not many workers to pay.
So that would cut down on cost. Also the closer one lives to one of their plants, the cheaper the chickens.

I also decided to check our respective populations, just to see if demand might make a difference. The UK has 65.14 million people. The US has 321.4 million people.

 

[Cinisajoy]

Sorry Cin, I just don't understand how chickens can be produced at at cost without serious welfare issues and artificial enhancements.

You got me curious as to how it was so cheap too so I did some research.

 

[classic33]

Sorry Cin, I just don't understand how chickens can be produced at at cost without serious welfare issues and artificial enhancements.

Battery hens end up somewhere when they no longer lay.

Either as food for other animals or us.

 

[Cinisajoy]

Sorry Cin, I just don't understand how chickens can be produced at at cost without serious welfare issues and artificial enhancements.

Oh and at the prices: the sale price is technically called a loss leader. The stores are taking a loss on the chickens in the hope that the shopper will decide to buy an expensive steak with the money they are saving. This idea works because the average family buys one paycheck at a time.
Example: dad gets paid on Friday. Mom goes to favorite grocery store on Friday. Buys just enough to get them from Friday to Thursday. Or some shop on Saturday morning and buy just enough to get them from Saturday to Friday. Never any leftover. Or however long it is from payday to payday. Many have a set budget that they can't go over and don't dare go under. So yes, the stores can afford loss leaders.

Personally, we try for a yearly budget.

 

[Cinisajoy]

Now let's talk about beef. I just looked to see what beef was going for this week.
Now it does vary some by location and state.
Beef is actually auctioned off. Or in other words, one buys the entire steer or cow. Taking just the steer that was sold yesterday at auction:
A 1,339 pound steer was sold for $184. Now half of that weight will more than likely be waste, so you now have 700 pounds of meat for $184. This brings the cost to .26 cents a pound. Even if you add in $100 per steer for processing, that still works out to 40 cents a pound. Cheapest beef here is $3 a pound unless you catch a sale. I also doubt it cost anywhere near $100 per steer for processing.
Link to the rest of the sales figures. http://www.cattle.com/markets/barn_report.aspx?code=SA_LS150
Ok yes for a local butcher to do a steer, I am probably close but the big manufacturers will not have that much expense.