Food buying habits are evolving in the face of inflation

[mystery-ak]

Food buying habits are evolving in the face of inflation

    Emily Peck, author of Axios Markets

Rising food prices are slowly changing our grocery store shopping habits, already kind of weird after the pandemic pushed more Americans to eat at home, industry analysts tell Axios.

Why it matters: High inflation is rippling out into all kinds of markets — from nickel to housing to stocks to supers (supermarkets that is) — and changing the way we live.

State of play: Some folks are swapping different types of meat, as those prices climb. The cost of beef is up 20% over last year and chicken is up 13%, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report.

    One of my Twitter followers told me she's butchering whole chickens instead of picking up her usual pack of thighs, to save money.

    More broadly, people are just buying smaller packs of meat, said Joan Driggs, vice president of content at IRI, a market research firm. "If you watch the meat case, [shoppers] will rifle through some of those packs until they find the lowest price."

    You're also starting to see shrinkflation — where companies are keeping prices the same, but selling you less of whatever is inside, cereal or ice cream or whatever, to compensate.

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[Kamaji]

Shrinkflation is the worst. I’d rather see the price go up. 

[roamer_1]

Just fixin to order half a beef. The freezer ain't quite clear, so I have been buying burger from the store a little bit while I get the rest of the steaks and roasts  and such either ate or cut up for bottling.

Won't be buying that burger very long. Five bucks and some a pound is crazy money.

[LMAO]

Those white tailed deer that are invading my yard are starting to look delicious

[Kamaji]

Those white tailed deer that are invading my yard are starting to look delicious

[roamer_1]

Those white tailed deer that are invading my yard are starting to look delicious

They always are so long as they don't run much. But I prefer muleys. 

[LMAO]

They always are so long as they don't run much. But I prefer muleys. 

My oldest son works out west and he brought some mule deer burger home and it was really good.

We don’t have any mule deer here in Wisconsin. But we have way too many whitetailed deer

The funny thing they all disappear around hunting season

[GtHawk]

Shrinkflation is the worst. I’d rather see the price go up.

Geez, shrinkflation is nothing new, we've seen it for decades, ice cream went from 2 quarts to 1.75 quarts to 1.5 quarts and some brands down to 1 quart. Manufacturers have played the game for a long time even to the point of using the same old packaging with less content to fool consumers.

[Kamaji]

Geez, shrinkflation is nothing new, we've seen it for decades, ice cream went from 2 quarts to 1.75 quarts to 1.5 quarts and some brands down to 1 quart. Manufacturers have played the game for a long time even to the point of using the same old packaging with less content to fool consumers.

Don't I know it; that's why I dislike it.

[rustynail]

Seed oils are poison and lard is getting hard to find.

[mountaineer]

Those white tailed deer that are invading my yard are starting to look delicious

We have deer and turkeys in our yard. Of course, I'd have to violate state law to harvest them, but these are difficult times, after all.

[roamer_1]

My oldest son works out west and he brought some mule deer burger home and it was really good.

We don’t have any mule deer here in Wisconsin. But we have way too many whitetailed deer

We have three - Blacktail, Whitetail, and Muley (technically moose and elk too of course)

Whitetail tend to live in the valleys, blacktail with em once you get to the forests. And muleys back up in mountain meadows.

Judging from a grain field fed whitetail (which I would assume to be rather universal in size):
A blacktail tends to be smaller... in the 75 percentile ranging up to a small white tail. Muleys tend to be in the 1.75%, and range up to where you might mistake it for a small or young elk.

Since I am a meat hunter, I kinda gravitated to muleys, and besides it is a somewhat harder hunt. If I want a whitetail, I can pretty well wait till dusk, and reach out my window and club one.  . I ain't above that, but I like to actually, you know... hunt.

The funny thing they all disappear around hunting season

It's almost like they know what's going on... 

[Smokin Joe]

We have deer and turkeys in our yard. Of course, I'd have to violate state law to harvest them, but these are difficult times, after all.

Any month with an 'r'...

Be quiet...Use a bow.

[roamer_1]

We have deer and turkeys in our yard. Of course, I'd have to violate state law to harvest them, but these are difficult times, after all.

We can hunt em. Just need a tag. same with upland bird and waterfowl.

I don't hunt turkey much though... If we ain't raising em, one of several friends do. Same as chicken is easier than chinks and grouse. 

[Smokin Joe]

If I buy food, I generally buy by the case. It's only going to get more expensive.

[mountaineer]

Any month with an 'r'...

Be quiet...Use a bow.

Yes, the noise of a firearm would give me away, plus shooting is not permitted within 500 feet of a dwelling, wholly apart from hunting regulations.

[240B]

If I buy food, I generally buy by the case. It's only going to get more expensive.

And smaller. I buy more or less the same fresh renewable supplies every month. Fresh bread, cake, veggies, cereals, milk, and such. And every month the items get smaller and more expensive. It is a double inflation, a double tax.

[libertybele]

I have a good supply of dehydrated food/milk/cheese which will likely come in handy once the food supply hits rock bottom.

Meanwhile I've been stocking up as much as I can. Trying to keep both freezers full of meat and frozen vegs and our pantry stocked with canned goods and paper goods. It is ridiculously expensive.

Here I originally began stockpiling food to prepare for hurricane season; now I'm stocking up for a much different reason.  I'm glad that I started when I did.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Translation:  more are buying at Sams and Costco

[Smokin Joe]

I have a good supply of dehydrated food/milk/cheese which will likely come in handy once the food supply hits rock bottom.

Meanwhile I've been stocking up as much as I can. Trying to keep both freezers full of meat and frozen vegs and our pantry stocked with canned goods and paper goods. It is ridiculously expensive.

Here I originally began stockpiling food to prepare for hurricane season; now I'm stocking up for a much different reason.  I'm glad that I started when I did.

Until the can racks are full, I will buy by the case. It's coming along, and when I would have bought one, I buy two. I'm short on paper products, yet, and have to do something about that.

They are crazy expensive now, and going up.

[Smokin Joe]

Translation:  more are buying at Sams and Costco

Don't have either close enough to be worth the drive, here. I watch for sales, and then load up.

[roamer_1]

Translation:  more are buying at Sams and Costco

I am actually getting away from Costco... I buy some there because they are easy cases. Just toss em in the pantry and there ya go. It's a thing for management, compared to singles which must be stacked and are hard to move/rearrange after the fact...

But the cans are oversized... So you think you are getting more... But you're really not. I still use two cans of diced tomatoes in goulash, whether Costco's or otherwise, because what do you do with say, a half a can of diced tomatoes after the fact? So the 'more' gets used up as relative loss.

So I am moving toward Smith's (Kroger), because I can get regular cans in cases, and 12 instead of 8, for less cost. I talked to the buying manager there, and she told me if I make a decent order, like $200 or so, She will special order for me on a weekly basis (order, and the delivery is freight free in under a week), with a call to me when they arrive.

So I don't have to wait for case sales (even though the price is less then, the special order does not cost more than the regular retail price), and I will save all around.

I will still hit the Costco for their lost leaders... butter prices there are regularly hard to beat. As is cheese, and etc.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Don't have either close enough to be worth the drive, here. I watch for sales, and then load up.

My son lives near SD and drives two hours to the nearest Sams,  He also bought a freezer and bought 1/2 a calf and now is raising quail to eat.  He has 7 in his family to feed