Adapting to Food Price Spikes

COMMENTARY | A hot topic in the news lately is the upcoming food price spikes. Particularly noted has been the decrease in the peanut crop, leading to raised prices in staples such as peanut butter. Oxfam America is one of many organizations that has pointed out worldwide impact of these price hikes. Locally, families are doing everything they can to prepare for a higher cost of bringing home the bacon.

To save money at my house, we are going out to eat less. Instead we are finding ways of creating our favorite dishes at home. Pasta meals are inexpensive and easy to prepare. Soups are especially appealing in this cooler weather. These recipes are easily doubled or tripled to last for several meals for lunch and dinner. They are just as satisfying as comparable meals in restaurants, cost less and are often much healthier.

A yeast intolerance means that we frequently do not eat breads or other products containing yeast. Instead we make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches out of graham crackers. They taste fabulous and actually yield more sandwiches per package than a loaf of bread. Plus a generic box of graham crackers often costs less than a loaf of bread. Also we have looked into substituting the protein of the peanut butter by eating a lot more beans and tuna fish. Both of these are significantly cheaper.

Shopping at stores such as Price Rite and Aldi's also helps to save money during these food price spikes. The foods they offer may be their generic brand but taste just as good as the name brands. On occasion you can find name-brand products at a significantly reduced price in these stores. These stores do not take coupons, but their alternative products are often cheaper than the name brand versions even with coupons. Buying nonperishable foods and those that can be frozen in bulk, particularly during a sale, also helps us to save money in the long run.

Planning a shopping list during a food price spike requires a lot of planning and flexibility within favored menus. We also scour free recipes and cookbooks online for new inspirations and try to develop our own fun concoctions to eat. Broadening our horizons is helping us cut costs and develop new tastes during these difficult economic times.