The Price We Pay For Groceries

For the last few months I have been listening to and reading my fair share of doomsday reports about the state of the American economy. Every day there seems to be a new story about entire neighborhoods of foreclosed homes, predictions that the price of gas will reach $5 a gallon by the end of the year, and warnings that the looming food crisis will drive up the price of every basic food we consume. For a while my coping strategy was to embrace a state of numbness to this global conversation happening around me. Could things really be this bad? Well, I think they actually might be.

Yesterday I did two things that drove this looming crisis home for me. I stopped at a gas station and had to pay $43 to fill up my little Honda Civic. Afterwards, I drove to Whole Foods to pick up some meat for the week. I needed peppers and decided to grab them while I was there rather than making a second stop at Trader Joes. Three red peppers cost me over $7.50. For the first time since talk about a recession began I felt scared. What will $150 of groceries buy me in one year, will it be enough to feed a family of four for a week? More importantly, how will someone less fortunate than we are afford basics like milk and eggs when the prices skyrocket?

I don't mean to get all doom and gloom on this generally upbeat blog but I am eager to know what other moms think. Does anyone else feel like every week you go to the grocery store and come home with a higher bill and less food? Are you worried about the price you will pay for healthy groceries one year from now? Have you already made adjustments to your diet in order to compensate for the increased cost of basic food items?

- Mama Flava -