I also noticed prices in my midwest stores rising too. I try to buy meats when on sale. Last week we have chicken hind quarters on sale for 10# at $4.99 so I bought a bag though I knew I had some in the freezer already. When they put their ground beef and pork on sale at 10# tubes, I buy them and split them in useable sizes for my recipes. Luckily I have 3 freezers at my disposal and my garden has been plentiful this year. I've also been sharing in my neighborhood as we have elderly couples on a very fixed income so this helps them somewhat.