According to the Wall Street Journal, the price of corn is up 78%, soybeans 42%, and sugar 164%, compared to 2009 prices. I’m sure you already know this, but those items are in almost every packaged food you buy, including dog food!
I’ve noticed my grocery bill creeping up almost time I go to the store. Sure, my kids are getting older and eating more, but I know it has more to do with the rising prices than the increased appetites.
Not only are prices rising, packages are shrinking! A recent article in the New York Times talks about the shrinking size of packaging. Ice cream is no longer sold by the half gallon, pasta boxes now weigh less than a pound, and recently 5 pound bags of sugar have disappeared.
According to the Times article:
“Consumers are generally more sensitive to changes in prices than to changes in quantity,” John T. Gourville, a marketing professor at Harvard Business School, said. “And companies try to do it in such a way that you don’t notice, maybe keeping the height and width the same, but changing the depth so the silhouette of the package on the shelf looks the same. Or sometimes they add more air to the chips bag or a scoop in the bottom of the peanut butter jar so it looks the same size.”
Next time you shop be sure to check the weight/ price per ounce of the item you are purchasing. The great deal you think you are getting might not be such a good deal after all!
This recently hit home for me. I don’t usually purchase pre-made garlic toast. Well about a month ago my local store was running what I thought was a pretty good sale so I got a package. The box was the size I always remember seeing for sale. But when I opened it up a few days later to fix for dinner I was shocked to see the box was a third empty. The company had reduced the number of slices to 6 from what I think I remember as being 8 but didn’t change the size of the box! I was livid. I think that is a waste of resources to make the box the unneeded size..a waste of my freezer space..and deceptive too. Yes I will admit I should have read the box more thoroughly and I assumed it would have been full of product. But it still made me angry. I emailed the company saying those things and they sent me a coupon for a free product. It did teach me to read labels way more carefully!
Pamela-
Good for you for emailing the company. Even though it was your mistake they were being deceptive. Companies need to know that as consumers we will “vote” with our dollars and our product choices.
Toni
Definitely proof that trying to avoid the packaged processed food is cheaper! We have found that even the produce is getting expensive because of the cost of gas… So we joined a local csa, great healthy food and cheaper than most of the organic food in stores. We are even able to get our meat and eggs there as well. Anything to try and save some money and eat healthfully!
Ah, the cruel scoop at the bottom of the peanut butter jar — a foe of many moms and many knives. Though I can’t change the packaging, I can make the most of the quantity of food I do get by scraping down the jar until it’s clean. A miniature rubber spatula always does the trick!
I found it interesting that you mentioned the 5-lb bags of sugar. I think that was one of the first places I noticed change in the grocery store. Then orange juice went down to 59 oz/carton, butter went up a dollar a pound, and now eggs are up .60/dozen. And produce! Don’t even get me started. I’d prefer to pay a bit more but get the same amount–that way I don’t have to buy as often! I guess maybe most people don’t think like that?
Boy have we noticed prices going up, too!
Since we’re traveling around the country (in an RV), it’s harder to find the cheaper grocery stores we used to know back in Tacoma. We used to have one we went to just for produce, another for cheese, another for meat, and so on. Most of our shopping is now at Wal-Mart or the local grocery store monopoly.
Ultimately the answer is to grow some food yourself… and maybe barter with friends who own cows or chickens.
I know, I know, easier said than done.
Where do you get eggs that cheap? At our local Aldies they’re .89 a dozen and that’s the cheapest I can find.
Jolene, I guess I wasn’t clear. I said they were up .60/doz. and meant they had gone up .60 in price, not that they cost .60/dozen!
They are currently around 1.59/doz. if they’re not on sale. I wish we had an Aldi close to us–that sounds like an incredible price! 
My husband and I were talking several months ago about shrinking packaging in general and how the ice cream package (at least in Canada) went from 2L down to 1.89L but stayed the same price.
Two days ago, after several sleepless nights with a sick tot and of course the general discomfort of being 8 months pregnant, I put the children down to nap and grabbed the ice cream carton from the freezer. Inspecting it, I deemed there was just enough for me, grabbed a spoon and headed to a comfy chair with a book. {I deserved this really!}. Want to know what I was thinking? “Now that they have shrunk the package, it’s perfect for holding in one hand to eat out of!”. Sad, I know
But it’s important to look on the bright side! LOL
I’ve noticed this – especially with OJ – gone are the days of gallons and half gallons. And the 2.8 qt sizes LOOK like a gallon. urgh! lol ‘Nother reason to stop buying prepackaged food and eat more whole foods. =)
I’ve known sizes were shrinking for the last few years, but the shrinkage wasn’t enough to notice unless you were a regular label reader. I read them, and would often think “do they really think we are so stupid we don’t notice?” Apparently, enough people were clueless the manufacturers continued to reduce quantities to avoid price increases.
Now, however, the difference is obvious – and shocking – when you pick up a package. Who do they think they are fooling?