Farmer's can grow it here, it's just the price of getting it to market. There's rising gas prices, driver shortages, increasing wages, to say nothing of the inflation that no one in govt seems to be trying to do anything about. It's the perfect storm for a wild ride. Hang on everyone.

ummm....getting the pandemic under control would be huge to get the prices down and the economy going......plenty of folks in government trying to do that....problem is there are so many people out there who don't listen so well. I will not go into a store to shop at this point. So I am not helping the economy and I will not go into a restaurant either at this point. sorry restaurant owners. I think I am part of the silent folks who just stay home because folks insist on gong out and about without taking this pandemic seriously. I don't like it....but at least I have my stitching to keep me busy and my stash has turned into gold at this point. If a store does not offer mail order or curbside pickup, I don't use them. Doing almost all of my own cooking instead of getting ready made has helped me save my budget though. I don't buy many prepared foods at this point.

We went grocery shopping this morning........$300.00 for groceries, $100.00 for dog food and $75.00 for a half a tank of gas (we already had a half tank). That is almost 1/2 of my paycheck, just for one trip into town.

Farmers here have had good crops. It is the distribution that is the problem not the climate. Local news interviewed some of the biggest farmers in the area, said they had a bumper crop but trying to get it from farm to table is the problem.

My DH has heard me complaining about the rise in food prices for several years now, but this last year...oh boy...the prices have shot up! I've been budgeting and trimming down every way that I can. The new app for our local, big, grocery store, Safeway, has really helped me to plan ahead, take advantage of the deals and trim down the list before I go to the store. I use it religiously now and take advantage of their "drive-up & go," program. That way, I don't have to be subjected to seeing those impulse buys in the store. (Not to mention the increased exposure to covid.) It's been working well for me. I've been able to keep my food budget on par, even a little lower than last year.

Iceblossom...that is really interesting about the boxes. I never would have thought about that.

I haven't seen the statistics on the crops for the Californian farmers this year, but I can tell you that my own, vegetable gardens and orchards are not producing much this year. In fact, it's been pretty dismal. The heat and smoke from the fires have an a profound effect, so I assume that the same holds true for the commercial farmers. It would be interesting to see how that plays out.

We need some good recipes for budget meals posted here. :)

That's exactly what I'm hearing here. We have some small stores that sell local produce which is a boon right now. The farmers deliver themselves and so are still able to do so. Things are still more expensive because of the gas costs but at least it's available.

Hubby was upset at a man a few weeks ago for putting some of his groceries back and holding up the line. When it was his turn he found out why. Yikes! It was so much more he was astounded.

Some parts of the country and some crops have done great. Others, not so much. We had a couple of bad storms this summer that were literally gully washers. Wheat was knocked down, making it harder to combine and more likely to sprout. Soybeans were under water in the fields.

I can't think of a single thing in the grocery that hasn't gone up - some pretty dramatically. We're okay, we don't really spend extravagantly, keep cars until well over 100,000 miles, don't go out a lot. A simple life, I guess, is our norm, so easy enough to live within our means. It's not us I worry about, it's our (adult) children and grandchildren. :(