Community Chat

[Kachina624]

I heard this morning that the cost of coffee is expected to skyrocket.  It may already be too late to stockpile a supply. 

[Susan Louise]

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@Sweetbay magnolia wrote:

It's a blip on the radar as far as my local grocer is concerned.  And a less than 1% increase in prices, though undesirable, is not panic-worthy.

I see a wide array of great food.  Some prices are up, some went up last year, and some are unchanged.

The CEO of General Mills (quoted in the article) oversees an empire of prepared foods, and I don't believe that is indicative of grocery market sectors in the entirety.

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@Sweetbay magnolia   Additionally for us, anything the CEO of General Mills says means nothing to us. Living a keto/low carb lifestyle, none of the products made by this company are in our pantry.

[Sweetbay magnolia]

Hear, hear, @Susan Louise .  Corn and its by products; the products of farm subsidies.

[GingerPeach]

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@Drythe wrote:

@Foxxee 

Your source is partially cut off, could you please re-post?

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Hi and good morning!

If you hover over the link, it will react and you can see it is active. 

Like many here, I don't buy packaged foods as the basis of my shopping but stick to fresh. Well, except for some favorite Amy's frozen meals.

[Cakers3]

I don't understand why my post on this issue on the other thread was removed and this one remains.  This link does not stand alone, either.

My link to the WSJ had nothing offensive-same topic, same issue.

Considering my post lead to this one.

[Cakers3]

Not to mention THIS source links to my WSJ article.

eta:  The WSJ article does contain sidebars that are political.  

LInks within links are not always up to standards.

[Group 5 minus 1]

As are we.

[World Traveler]

@GingerPeach I'm with you on Amy's frozen foods. Love her Mexican meals.

[drizzellla]

Found the article interesting

Supermarkets have started stockpiling food as inflation rises to its highest level in 13 years and they predict it will get worse.

Retailers are currently buying up to 25 percent more supplies than usual ahead of the predicted rise.

Recent data from the US Department of Agriculture revealed the consumer price index for grocery store and supermarket food purchases was up 0.7 percent in May compared to May of last year. 

Numerous household staples have been impacted with bacon 14 percent more expensive and milk and oranges climbing 8 percent higher.  

David Smith, CEO of the US's largest wholesaler Associated Wholesale Grocers, told the Wall Street Journal they have been buying 15 to 20 percent more goods - particularly packaged foods with long shelf lives. 

'We're buying a lot of everything. Our inventories are up significantly over the same period last year,' said Smith. 

At SpartanNash in Michigan, the retailer has bought up around 20 to 25 percent more than normal including frozen meat.

CEO Tony Sarsam said the 'uniquely inflationary period' has caused 'a feeding frenzy.'  

Some retailers, including Ahold Delhaize USA, are even expanding their warehouse space so they can stock up on even more goods.

Ahold Delhaize USA, which runs the Food Lion and Stop & Shop chains, has bought up 20 percent more stock of paper and cleaning products. 
 

The recent spike in prices and need to stockpile comes as several factors are pushing up costs all the way from farm to store.  

Shoppers are spending more on groceries, with Jefferies and NielsenIQ data showing US grocery sales were 15 percent higher in the week ending June 19 2021 compared to the same week in 2019, before the pandemic hit.

Sales were also 0.5 percent higher compared to this time last year when fears of the virus led shoppers to go into a panic-buying frenzy. 

This rise in sales is leaving supermarket shelves depleted, forcing stores to increase their inventories to keep up with demand.

Additionally, retailers are being pushed to stockpile due to concerns that food prices will continue to surge. 
 

Supply chain issues have been pushing up prices with labor shortages putting wage pressure on the grocery sector.

Transport costs are also rising with gas prices rising 56 percent in May from a year ago. 

On Friday, the AAA Gas Price Index pegged the national average gas price at $3.086, up from $2.171 one year ago. 

As a result, several companies including cereal maker General Mills, Hormel Foods and Kimberly-Clark have started raising prices or plan to do so.

'The inflation pressure we're seeing is significant,' General Mills CEO Jeff Harmening said at a recent investor conference. 

'It's probably higher than we've seen in the last decade.'

[Foxxee]

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@Drythe wrote:

@Foxxee 

Your source is partially cut off, could you please re-post?

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@Drythe 

It looks like the moderator removed the link overnight.