Feeding the family

Locating the best food prices around can be a chore for consumers who are stressed for time, money and patience.

Tracy and Courtney Biel are young professionals. She’s a veterinary emergency nurse and he is a customer service representative for nTelos. They own their Staunton home, two cars and are paying on student loans. They have no children.

“We try to be future minded,” said Tracy. “We’d rather cut corners now planning for the future.”

They feel it’s their responsibility to make sure they are not a burden financially after they retire.

“We seldom eat out and vacations consist of a Coleman stove and a tent,” she said.

Biel does coupon some to save money.

“But it’s not an out of the way of convenience,” she said.

Because the Biels cook ahead and freeze food, which means they grocery shop less, they can’t take advantage of weekly grocers’ circulars.

“Each store does its own price comparisons,” said Biel. “But they stock their own carts and say they have the cheapest prices. Who is really the cheapest?”

Even the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is affected by increases in food prices.

“Food prices have definitely gone up since 2008,” said Ruth Jones, of BRAFB. “Thirteen percent of our food is purchased and we have to pay freight on shipped products. We mainly rely heavily on donations.”

Jones said that people visiting the food bank tell them they are going to the center because they can’t afford the prices any longer.

“We have been paying five to 20 percent more for food since food prices increased,” said Jones. “ We’re trying to offset the rising prices in several ways: [by] making food purchases in secondary markets, buying off-brand foods and asking food vendors for [bids] in an effort to obtain more competitive prices.”

A March 10, 2008 issue of “Amber Waves,” a publication by the USDA presented on the Food Marketing Institute’s website, said that since the 1990s, food prices had increased about three percent a year through 2007, though the largest spike in pricing had previously been in 1989 from four to six percent, in its 10-year survey period starting in 1997.

Of course this was all before the Great Recession.

A report available at the USDA’s website showed an increase in food prices around 2008 that was about equal or more than the previous spike in 1989, from a little below three percent to more than six percent. Data also showed that food inflation more or less echoes the fall or increase of the Consumer Price Index, which measures price levels consumers pay for goods and services. It is the annual change in percentage in the CPI which is used to determine inflation.

Over the last 12 months, the overall index increased 3.6 percent before seasonal and fuel adjustments, said the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with food increasing 3.7 percent. The 2011 food inflation rate, the bureau predicts, will remain around three to four percent.

Giant/Martin’s food stores are watching strong commodity price increases.

“Farmers are facing energy increases [more than] 20 to 30 percent,” said Chris Brand, a spokesman for Giant/Martin’s. “People should watch oil prices. They are a good guide to what food will do in the future.”

Brand said that a lot of products are petroleum based, which helps to drive up the price of the oil.

“Grocery bags, plastic wrap and produce bags are all petroleum based,” he said. “Energy costs for the growers, the processors, the manufacturers, the distributors and the retailers are all increasing due to oil prices.”

Food Lion spokesman Benny Smith said they committed to helping its customers with affordable food prices.

“While we offer many additional ways for our customers to save money, from our MVP weekly promotions to our weekly e-mail with coupons, we remain focused on low prices for consumers.”

Giants/Martin’s allows double coupons and also has a printable shopping list online, which will provide a total to buyers prior to a visit.

It isn’t until a review is done of what buyers have left in their pocketbook and at the dinner table that food prices hit home.

On Wednesday, The News Virginian conducted a small food-pricing comparison Kroger, Food Lion, Martin’s and Wal-Mart, which included basics at normal prices and incorporated store brand and national products. The comparison did not include tax, coupons or special pricing.

Although it is not all-encompassing or predictive, there are some interesting aspects, including which stores carried organic products, which stores had lower prices and which did not.

“To deliver on [the Food Lion] commitment, we routinely perform price checks among our competitors, and we will conduct further research based on these findings,” said Smith.

Brand said that other media outlets conduct six-month surveys of some Giants/Martin’s stores and they welcome the findings of The News Virginian.

“In the meantime, the need continues to soar,” said Jones. “On average, we serve[d] approximately 62,400 people in 2008. Today, we’re serving 103,000 people a month. Record numbers of people have been thrust into poverty and food insecurity. Many [people] receiving food assistance are struggling with the additional burden of rising food, gas and energy costs.”

For other consumers, priceless values could determine where to shop.

“Some [stores] have better customer service, that should be a factor also,” said Biel. “If it’s only a few pennies difference, you might consider that.”