An article from the Associated Press landed on KHQA's Chad Douglas' desk recently that said you can find some relief in the grocery aisles these days.
Apparently prices for dairy, meat, fruits, vegetables, and bread have fallen across the country.
The article also states cheaper gas prices than the past year have cut transportation costs for companies.
You may remember, he's been keeping track of 16 staple grocery items since June of 2007.
He pulled out that list to find out if grocery prices have taken a dip here in the tri-states.
Let's start off with the good news. Overall, my grocery bill was cheaper than when I last checked in June. The total this go round was $56.63. That's $4.07 cheaper than three months ago. Now for the unsettling news. $4.90 of that savings can be attributed to one item...Tide laundry detergent. 100 ounces now sells for $9.98 as opposed to $14.88 in June. Now, I'm not great at math, but I can already tell you the savings on the Tide outweighs the savings of the total bill, which means groceries have not taken a very big dive here locally. The only other item that fell is eggs. They dropped 12 cents.
Now for the items that went up in price. Milk jumped 13 cents. Sugar jumped 20 cents, but the biggest spike came in the soda aisle. A 12 pack of Dr. Pepper now costs $4.29. That's the highest it's been in two years. The only other time it's been over $4.00 is back in March of 2008 when corn prices were so high. High fructose corn syrup is a main ingredient in soda. I tried to find reasoning for the jump this time, but couldn't find a definitive answers.
HERE'S A LOOK AT THE PRODUCTS AND PRICES SINCE JUNE OF 2007 - I HOPE YOU CAN FOLLOW MY KEY
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 (August 21, 2007) {October 22, 2007} [January 11, 2008] *March 7, 2008* +July 3, 2008+ -September 2, 2008- *November 19, 2008* #February 18, 2009# %June 16, 2009% ^September 15, 2009^
A gallon of Prairie Farms skim milk was $3.37. ($3.83) {$3.83} [$3.88] *$3.59* +$2.48+ -$3.78- *$3.67* #$2.68# %Hy-vee brand $2.46% ^$2.59^
12 ounces of Kraft 2% American Singles cheese was $3.99. ($3.99) {$3.99} [$3.99] *$3.99* +$4.29+ -$4.29- *$4.68* #$4.58# .%$3.99% ^$3.99^
Store brand of large eggs was $.84 ($1.19) {$1.27} [$1.86] *$1.77* +$1.83+ -$1.83- *$1.72* #$1.18# %$1.35% ^$1.23^
A 24 ounce tub of Country Crock was $1.97. ($2.27) {$2.27} [$2.27] *$2.37* +$2.67+ -$2.97- *$2.97* #$2.97# %$2.97% ^$2.97^
One pound of 80% lean ground beef was $2.78. ($2.78) {$2.54} [$2.78] *$.2.79* +$2.39+ -$2.98- *$2.88* #$2.88# %$2.88% ^$2.88^
A 12 pack of Dr. Pepper was $3.33. ($3.00) {$3.33} [$4.19] *$3.00* +$3.67+ -$3.99- *$4.19* #$3.99# %$3.67% ^$4.29^
20 ounces of Honey Nut Cheerios was $3.99. ($3.99 17oz) {$4.49 17oz} [$4.49 17oz] *$3.49 17oz* +$4.49+ -$4.59- *$4.59* #$4.59# %$4.59% ^$4.59^
19.5 ounces of Kellogs Corn Pops was $3.69. ($3.69) {$2.67} [$3.69] *3.98* +$3.98+ -$3.77 (17oz)- *$3.98 (17oz)* #$4.48# %$4.48% ^$4.48^
8 ounces of Oscar Mayer Chopped Ham was $2.38. ($2.38) {$2.38} [$2.88] *2.88* +$2.88+ -$3.29- *$3.49* #$3.49# %$3.49% ^$3.49^
5 pounds of Gold Medal Unbleached Flour was $1.89. ($1.99) {$1.99} [$1.99] *2.59* +$2.59+ -$2.59- *$2.79* #$2.79# %$2.79% ^$2.79^
4 pounds of C&H Sugar was on sale for $1.59. ($2.18) {$2.18} [$2.18] *$1.48* +$2.14+ -$2.38- *$1.77 (on sale)* #$2.38# %$2.38% ^$2.58^
Bananas were $.49 cents a pound...we bought four (a pound and a half) bringing the total to $.75. ($1.00 -- $.25 a piece...bought 4) {$.25/ea} [$.25] *.$.30* +.$35+ -$.69/lb- *$.69/lb* #$.69/lb# %$.35/ea% ^$.35/ea^
16 ounces of Birdseye Frozen Sweet Corn was $1.77. ($1.77) {$1.77} [$1.77] *$1.77* +$1.88+ -$1.88- *$.88 (on sale)* #$1.18# %$1.99% ^$1.99^
100 ounces of Tide liquid Clean Breeze was $6.97. ($6.97) {$6.49} [$5.99] *$6.48* +$6.97+ -$12.94- (50oz -$6.97) *14.88 (100oz)* #$14.88# %$14.88% ^$9.98^
16 ounces of Wonder 100 percent wheat bread was $2.39. ($2.39) {$2.39} [$2.39] *$2.39* +$2.49+ -$2.00 (on sale)- *$2.69* #$2.69# %$2.89% ^$2.89^
96 ounces of Minute Maid Country Orange Juice with medium pulp was $4.48. ($4.48) {$4.48} [$4.48] *$4.48* +$4.48+ -$4.48- *$4.99* #$4.99# %$4.48% ^$4.48^
The total for my groceries is $46.18. (Total 47.90) {Total $47.07} [Total 49.83] *Total $48.25* +Total $50.63+ -Total 57.76- *$62.23* #$61.15# %$60.69% ^$56.62^
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