for a school to require shoes or anything else that costs $90 is absurd. the pta or the parents of the team kids should definitely oppose this.
btw, here in new jersey where the oil is refined and the ugly oil tanks blot out the sun, the gas prices are still 2.43 today. last week they were 2.53. that's with no cross country trucking.

Thanks for all the replies!

When I gave the example of milk, it was because milk usually holds steady. I wasn't blaming the dairy farmers for the price increase. In fact, that hadn't even occurred to me. Milk is usually a loss leader, so maybe stores have decided to do away their loss leaders. Wegman's seems to be the best price-wise on milk. It's been over a dollar (for that quart - I live alone and rarely use even that much up before it goes bad) for a few weeks now at most places. Today I didn't feel like fighting Sunday crowds at Wegman's, so I got it at Giant for, I think, $1.01. Wal-mart actually has the highest milk prices, like 20 cents higher for the same brand, same size.

Usually I rant about green peppers costing $3.99/pound, but this year the highest I've seen so far is $2.49, and most stores are regularly selling them for $1.69 - $1.99. I still remember the days of 99 cents being the non-sale price. Oh, well.

mcdaniel023, grapes, at this time of year? They're not in season. They're actually on sale for $1.29/pound this week (I know, that's retail), which just astonishes me even if they are imported. They're rarely that low even in the summer.

Honey, that seems to be a huge increase in your DD's grocery bill!

Earthwalker, I just cringe when I look at my utility bills. Did electricity get deregulated everywhere this month, or is it just PA? Anyway, electric bills are supposed to go up 30%, they tell us. And it's not like I can do without utilities.

It's true. If you don't grow up on a farm or with a backyard garden, you're helpless without grocery stores. That's true of me especially, being an apartment dweller.

lisa_wanna_b_quilter, I can't even judge the price of bread. Bread ranges from 99 cents for the store brand version of Wonder Bread, to over $2 for the name brand Wonder bread rivals, to $3.99 for more upscale breads, to $5 and $6 for bakery loaves. Not that there are bakeries around any more. (By bakery, I mean a place that makes the bread that day, from scratch, not the mass produced, pre-frozen dough that the supermarkets heat up on the premises and that has stuff in it to make last a week. Ooh, sorry, how did that off-topic rant work its way in?)

butterflywing, NJ has the lowest gas prices in the nation, somehow related to that no-self-serve law you guys have. Gas is down 4 cents this weekend here, $2.65/gallon at the lower-cost places.

(Tried to add that to my last post, but exceeded the 20 minute editing limit.)

My apartment complex was taken over by the bank and is being managed by a property management company. Funny thing, they're lowering rents! Mine is to go down $125/month, starting in May - if I sign a year's lease. I'm month-to-month now, paying extra for it, and probably won't be able to stay. But we'll see.

Lisanne, she thought so, too, so went over it again. She has been buying basically the same things (I think most of us do) and that is what she came up with. She buys all her grocerys at walmart, because they are the least expensive. We don't have a great choice here. Walmart, Copps and to small locally owned grocerys. I can't wait for spring and planting our garden. Not huge, but we get a lot out of it and eat all those wonderful fresh veggies all summer and fall. I also will be canning more this year again. I used to do tons of it, but when the kids got on their own, i kinda cut back. I will start in June with strawberries (yummy jam) and go from there. The problem is that so many young people don't know how and don't have time with both parents working to make ends meet. I try to do enough for all of us. We are also very lucky to have an excellent apple orchard just a few miles away.

Honey, I'm one of the stubborn ones who refuses to pay when prices go up too much. It finally hit me that I just have to accept it sometimes. So I won't just buy those $4 green peppers, or $4 bags of potato chips, but since I can't get either one of those for 99 cents any more, I will pay lower higher prices, if that makes any sense.

I was in Madison last winter, know and love both Copp's and Woodman's. And the people in the area have the best manners anywhere in the country! (And, oh, I so loved the snow!)

I also have very few choices here in central PA. I find Wal-mart is better for many things but it's the highest-priced in my area for milk, cottage cheese, and paper goods.

I think it's wonderful that you garden and preserve some of it.

Canning was something I just did when the kids were little. I was a stay at home mom so did everything possible to cut expenses. When they were all home I canned almost 1000 jars every year of fruit, veggies, pickles, jams you name it, I canned it. It always gave me great pride to see all of those jars in the basement for winter use. We would also get permission and take the kids out to scrabble the potatos that were left after the harvesters went through. We could always get about 500 pounds each year. It made the kids feel good knowing that they contributed. This summer I want to have my oldest GS (12) help some so that he can learn some of the basics.

Yes. they are out of season. But, they have NEVER been this high. We are lucky to have most items at a set bid price. But, I know for a fact that our bid is way under the going rate for milk, bread, yogurt and cheese. We still have to buy some fresh fruit and veggies that are not at set prices. Lettuce, tomatoes, celery and most fruit is really high right now and quality is poor. Tell that to the parents. They would not pay $4.00/lb. for grapes but they sure want us to. :roll:

I agree, how can a school require shoes that expensive!
my DD is a teacher in a grade school..and this year 65 % of the kids are getting free or low cost lunches..the parents are not working, or below the poverty line. so sad.
i was shocked at how much bread costs! a cheap lunch when i was groing up was a fried egg sandwich or peanut butter.
my husband doesn't understand the price of food..or knows. he just says "where did all the money go"? i told him..."your eating ,aren't you"!
i told him CVS has soup 2 for a dollar,limit of six..tomato,cream of mushroom..i ran up there.. in the grocery store, tomato soup is up around $1.30 a can!
i never really worried about the price of food..until my husband got laid off...now i watch everything.

The price of everything has gone up here too, but my husbands wages have gone down.