Posted on 10/25/2023 12:29:35 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Prices for restaurant meals and groceries continue to rise, but at least you're more likely to get a discount.
The percentage of food sold on promotion has reached its highest level since before the pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing research from Nielsen IQ.
The cost of food as a whole, however, is still about a third higher than it was before COVID, the Journal reported.
The amount of food on sale jumped more than 5% in the 52-week period that ended in mid-October compared with the previous 52 weeks, according to Nielsen's data.
The change might be a bid to bring back customers at a time when sales are slumping.
Overall food sales per unit fell around 2% in the 52-week period that ended on Oct. 7 compared with the previous year, Nielsen's data shows.
Consumers are working through what they already have stocked up in their pantries and eating more leftovers, ConAgra chief executive Sean Connolly told the Journal.
"When consumers are flush, they throw their leftovers in the garbage," Connolly said. "When they're stretched, they keep leftovers and they try to avoid spending money on the next meal."
Shoppers appreciate the bargains, even as their overall grocery bills continue to increase.
"I almost had a heart attack the other day when I saw a box of cereal for $8.99," Rachel Pallettiere, a house cleaner who lives in Illinois, told the Journal. "I was like, 'Does that come with a gallon of milk too?'"
Pallettiere estimated that she spends around $600 a month on food for a family of six.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
*PING*
Sales are why I have two freezers in my garage. 90% of my meat/chicken is purchased on sale. And most everything else that I buy frozen.
I calculate that both freezers have paid for themselves.
MSM trying to put make-up on the Biden economy pig
It’s a good thing the American Taxpayers have decided to pick up the tab for Venezuelans, Mexicans, Haitians, Jamaicans, Cubans, Syrians, Indians, Pakistanis, Red Chinese, Jamaicans, Palestinians, Hamas, Iraqis, Iranians, Ukrainians, Afghani interpreters, Somali future U.S. Congress jerks, Turks, Russkis, Kenyans, Swahilis, and the rest of the damn planet.
Ditto! Though we raise our own. Getting low on fish though.
Yes, sales! I just got chicken breasts (boneless/skinless) at Winco for 98 cents/lb. Walnuts are under $3/lb @Costco. Eggs have come down, but I enjoyed the organic ones when they weren’t much more and still pay $3.50 per dozen to get them
Someone is still using common core math if they think prices at the store have only risen 33%. A loaf of Walmart bread was 88 cents but now it’s $1.32 which is a 50% increase using that old fashion math.
Every time you head to the kitchen trash with food scraps, stop and think how to make it into another meal. Don’t drain canned goods down the sink but pour like items into freezer containers and there’s your “free” veg stock so you never have to purchase any. Liquids off fruits can be used in beverages, used to flavor stir-fries and baked goods and thickened for dessert/snack toppings. Boil those bones and scrape out cooked meat drippings to fill a large freezer container same as for vegs.
Zest all citrus and let it air dry on the counter for “free” zest.
At the end of the week, use all the little spoons of leftovers to top pizza, fill a dough for a meat pie/empanadas/mu shu whatever/fritters/savory grab ‘n go muffins and casseroles and soups. Learn to be creative with random ingredients and what can be substituted for something else.
Ingredients required on packages aren’t carved in stone. Cut the sugar in half for Kool-ade. Use half the ramen seasoning package and save the other half for something else.
Learn to cook from scratch to save lot$. Make your own burgers and pizza. Mexican and Asian food cost couch change. Make your own tortillas and mandarin wraps. If you need a fast food fix, there are countless online recipes. On average, making take-out at home saves 6-1 on costs at the window. I’ve posted several times that 6 homemade Schlotzsky 6” original sandwiches cost what 1 does at the drive-thru. Sure, you have to take 60-90 seconds out of your morning to throw together the sour dough but it does it’s happy thing while you’re at work. Compare 6 homemade sandwiches for $8.39 to 6 at the window for $54.49 with tax but not including the delivery and tip (smh).
“but Sales Are More Plentiful”
Yeah because the packages got so small you have to buy two instead of one to get enough. lol
Kind of like Biden’s “more jobs”. Yeah because everyone had to go get a second job or starve.
Exactly. I’m sure some items are only up 33%, however, a few weeks ago I found an old receipt in my car from early 2021. I went back to the same store/chain and compared prices on some of those items. I calculated increase of anywhere from 25 to 60%.
Excellent post! But Eat leftovers???
Most people don’t anymore. They think it is a sign of poverty. I have seen many hungry folks go hungry rather than eat leftovers.
RE: Overall food sales per unit fell around 2% in the 52-week period
People can stop going to movie theaters and concerts or buying things on impulse online.
But stop eating?
True, the late Thich Nhat Hanh in one book I read (Anger) said eating the wrong foods can increase anger so switch to all organic and vegetarian meals. “Yes, they cost a lot more but most people need to eat less anyway to get their body fat down and health up.”
In another part he said chickens who have tiny brains blame the next nearest chicken in the hundreds of metal square rows for being tormented by the imprisonment. So they lash out with their sharp beaks and stab or cut the other chicken. To prevent this, companies use a metal saw to cut off the beaks before putting them into the cages.
I am amazed by that. I was at a weekend event with the neighbors, and the neighbors brother had made this GREAT tasting korean bbq in his dutch oven. Next day the wife was trying to give the leftovers away saying “I don’t do leftovers”. What? I looked at her and said “do you have any idea what a great soup that would make? I’ll take it!”. Got a bit of a dirty look, but I don’t care. I’m not proud. Food is food. If you don’t want it, I can do something with it!
“I am amazed by that. I was at a weekend event with the neighbors, and the neighbors brother had made this GREAT tasting korean bbq in his dutch oven. Next day the wife was trying to give the leftovers away saying “I don’t do leftovers”. What? I looked at her and said “do you have any idea what a great soup that would make? I’ll take it!”. Got a bit of a dirty look, but I don’t care. I’m not proud. Food is food. If you don’t want it, I can do something with it!”
Thank you for sharing that. I agree, we fed an army around here when the kids were going up. All their friends, all our friends who were here almost every night...
So nothing went to waste and we had to stretch goods farther all the time. Lot of one pot meals and casseroles! :)
We plan our meals based on what kind of leftovers will be available from them. That way we actually only cook every third day.
“We plan our meals based on what kind of leftovers will be available from them. That way we actually only cook every third day.”
Absolutely! Us too!
Of course the gross amount of dollars for food sales is rising - we have several million very hungry newly arrived military age males to feed. It probably a good time to buy stock in the larger grocery chains because as long as Cho BiDung leaves the border open, profits will be good.
‘Yeah because the packages got so small you have to buy two instead of one to get enough.”
Good catch nobody talks about. But I actually heard Wal-Mart say “Merry Christmas” in an ad last weekend. Not “holiday.” They know what’s up.
You betcha the new Ukes in my ‘hood are getting bennies.
I, on the other hand, can still afford food. I only eat twice a day, weigh 116 so that’s all I can possibly eat. I. buy the best of everything with help of GroceryOutlet stores in our town.. You never know what they have but I go twice a month at least. Items that cost $6 at Safeway and other stores are often. $2 at “GrossOut”;
And my new Natural Grocer has all the very best of everything, with an ongoing great deals on my fave pasture-raised eggs for $4.00 and 90-cent avocados. And of course a lot of other things I like, some very %%%%.
Hope you have a Grocery Outlet in your town. They are all over the country.
HORRIBLE CHICKEN CRUELTY.
I only buy pasture-raised eggs, get the great Wilcox Family Farms brand raised in my state. . My neighbor knows the owner and says he’s very careful to treat his flocks correctly. . Neighbor is a vegan and doesn’t eat them. And I pay a little more for chicken. Trader Joe has pasture raised organic boneless skinless chicken thighs at a decent price. Most people don’t realize that Trader prices are usually better than Safeway and other big markets.
My dad was in the restaurant biz and taught me very early to “Buy the best food you can afford and do as little to it as possible.” I steam veggies, easiest way to cook them and also best way to preserve nutrients.
That includes potatoes. I buy small organic potatoes, cut them in half and steam enough for a few days, reheat as needed. Mash them with a fork, put heart-healthy extra-virgin olive oil on them, fresh ground pepper and garlic granules. (no salt.). Everyone who has dinner here says they’re exceptionally good. And exactly zero effort.
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