Food Prices Going UP? Grow Your Own!

I don't know about you, but in the last month, I have noticed the price of frozen veggies going up. One particular brand that I have had a coupon for, I bought some of their frozen veggies. At that time, the price had been higher than I had previously bought the brand for. Before it was $1.09, this time it was $1.29. Still a decent price with my coupon. Then the following week, I went to get 2 more bag of the frozen veggies. They were $1.39! Up $.10 from the previous week! But I still bought because of my good coupon. Then the FOLLOWING week, I went to get the veggies again. And AGAIN the price had jumped, to $1.59! So in a month's time, the prices of this particular frozen veggie company had jumped $.50!

I kept coming home and telling my hubby each week that they had jumped again. I just couldn't believe SEEING the prices jump like that! I spend quite a bit of time looking for good deals on our groceries and never had seen anyone mention the price jumps on things... until yesterday. I found another blog I liked and last night was reading some of their entries. I came across this one on Building Food Storage. She actually kept track of Aldi's and the prices of canned veggies there. She also noticed the prices going up. Along with some other food items.

In her article she talked about getting her food storage built up in case of hyperinflation. Hyperinflation is where products go up 100% in one year or 50% in a month's time. We almost hit that with my frozen veggies! As part of hyperinflation, the currency also goes down. Not sure if that is happening right now or not...

So, what are we to do? Do we just suck it up and keep paying the ever increasing prices? Well, I personally cannot keep pay $.10 more PER ITEM that I buy! How about you?

This is another good example and another good reason to grow your own food!

Here are some ideas, if you still have excuses for not growing your own:

• Even if you have a little land, grow food instead of grass! Grass looks nice. But will grass feed you? It actually costs you money each month (mowing, lawn care, etc.). Things like lettuce, tomatoes, sunflowers, etc can be planted right in your flower beds! Dig up a small side section of your yard, and try some other easy to grow items (potatoes, squash, zucchini, etc). Freeze ANY extras that you have. DON'T let them go to waste!
• Buy local! There are farmer's markets and road side stands everywhere! Buy more than you need, and freeze some! Also ask if you buy more than the norm, if you can get a special price for buying more! Never hurts to ask!
• Ask around, you may be able to find canning supplies for free or super cheap! Look at garage sales. It doesn't matter what food or dirt was in them, if they are cleaned in hot soapy water, they will be just fine. Put an ad in the paper! Ask for free or cheap jars! Some people may just be happy to get them out of their way!
• Make it a family project! Maybe your kids want to help. Maybe your sister-in-law wants to help, and have veggies too! Maybe a neighbor needs a place to grow some veggies and would be willing to help garden! Whatever the situation, it is always nice to have help.
  

Until the growing season begins, grab an extra jar or this or bag of that. If prices are truly going up (look it up on Google, they ARE going up), you will be glad you grabbed that extra each week to slowly build up your stock.

If you are interested in building up a pantry with a year's supply of food (not a bad idea!), look to this site, also listed on "New Life on a Homestead". This downloads a Food Storage Calculator! Very Nice! I may start entering what I have in there to see how long our food would last us!

Lots of good stuff to think about!

Are you ready for Spring yet?! Oh boy, I cannot wait!