Sharp rise in food prices

123 posts / 0 new

Wed, 2016-01-20 13:52

Mr. Magoo

I get that if you're living in a culvert, there's more to eating well (or at all) than just knowing how to cook.

But then an increase in the cost of cauliflower probably isn't your primary issue either.

If we remove the culvert-dwellers from the equation for a moment, I think there are still plenty of people who have access to a stove or an oven or a hotplate who could probably cook better and cheaper if they could cook at all. And I'm not talking about laying up 100 quarts of tomato sauce here. I'm just talking about rice and dhal versus Mama Michelina's.

Wed, 2016-01-20 15:16

#53

Timebandit Timebandit's picture

Limited cooking facilities for sure make it tough. You have to really get creative. I found it a challenge to go 3 months with crock pot, microwave and bbq grill, which is more than some people have access to. And that's without the further restrictions of not enough money for groceries.

Wed, 2016-01-20 15:34

#54

6079_Smith_W

... and if someone already has challenges in their life they don't necessarily have the time and energy to make food prep a full time job - as it can be. We have a working kitchen, and a cold room that makes us self-sufficient for squash, tomatos and garden greens. I still had to feed our family on store pizzas and fast food two days this week because we simply did not have the time to do it.

Not the norm, I have to say, but it did happen.

The notable difference being I am not a single parent, I don't have a nine-to-five job. I don't have to commute, I don't have kids that aren't capable of making their own meals, or any number of other more difficult things that prevent a lot of people from devoting the time needed to feed themselves properly.

Wed, 2016-01-20 17:17

#55

Mr. Magoo

Maybe we should be grateful for frozen entrees and McDonald's then. Or else what?

If you REALLY don't have time to cook rice and lentils and you REALLY can't afford rice and lentils anyway and you REALLY don't have anything to cook rice and lentils on even if you had some, and if your 12 year old REALLY can't help you rinse some rice then I'm not sure what to suggest.

We always seem to get here somehow though, even though it kind of seems like people managed for generations without frozen spaghetti, and in much of the world they seem to manage even now. Seems to me it's never new Canadians who ask "what the f**k am I supposed to do with dry beans????" -- and I'm not sure it's because they lack challenges in their life and everyone else doesn't. Being willing to cook inexpensive and nutritious stuff actually means ONE FEWER challenge.

Wed, 2016-01-20 17:40

#56

6079_Smith_W

Magoo,

Believe me, I agree with you about trying to do as much as you can yourself. I try to do that; haven't had a clothes dryer for years now. I have a garden. I can.

But I realize not everyone has the same freedom, resources and lack of burden I have. And we aren't in quite the same world as we were 50 years ago. And even back then, people were hungry and suffered from malnutrition.

It isn't now, nor has it ever been, just a case of how much you are willing to do.

I am no fan of McDonalds, but we used to have one downtown here. It isn't there anymore, but while it was it served a real purpose for people who had no kitchens.

Wed, 2016-01-20 17:57

#57

Mr. Magoo

It's not that I don't get any of that. I get that. Yes, some people don't have a kitchen. Yes, some people have to work a job and then make dinner. I get that and I've always got that. I don't think those people represent the big humpy middle part of the bell curve, but they surely exist.

But I'm afraid I've also known too many people who do have a kitchen, and who do have the time and money to subscribe to Netflix, and who do evidently find some spare change to eat take out three times a week, or purchase pre-prepared frozen entrees, who simply couldn't bake a potato unless the instructions were printed ON THE POTATO.

My point is just that for THOSE people -- not the ones living under a tarp -- both cheaper food and healthier food is only as far away as learning how to make your own fettucine alfredo, rather than buying a crappy little plastic package of it for triple the price and quadruple the "carageenan gum extenders" and then microwaving it in their their perfectly functional kitchen.

As an aside, is it your thinking that the majority of Canadians live in poverty? That the majority of Canadians lack a stove? That the majority work 12 hour days and arrive home exhausted? Because honestly, it sometimes feels like we have a preference for discussing <10% of people instead of >50%.

Wed, 2016-01-20 18:15

#58

6079_Smith_W

It is often as much a matter of time, Magoo. Hungry children can't always wait. Really, I don't think I am talking about 10%. And although I include them, I'm not just talking about people who are without a kitchen. I am talking in part about myself. And if it affects our family, I am sure it affects single parents, and people who are trying to balance work (sometimes part time, and several jobs), no car, and studies (their own, and that of kids) even more.

Yes, we should all try better (and I am the main cook in our family, so I know what that entails. I am making supper right now). But there is all kinds of stuff that gets in the way of that, particularly when everyone is working full time and then some.

Wed, 2016-01-20 18:23

#59

lagatta

Magoo, I think it is normal that on a forum like this, we should be discussing the people who face the most serious problems. I absolutely share in your dismay arriving at the cash of a nearby supermarket (typically the IGA) and seeing people about 30 years of age, well-dressed, not buying family portions, whose carts are full of horrid ready meals when there were good specials on vegetables and fish, easily prepared in a short time.

What there does seem to be now is a rise in precarity, and people working two or three jobs to survive.

The community kitchen I described near me aims to help people solve these problems. It does tend to target the poorest - not the homeless who can't really cook anything, but single men of a certain age who live in studios with perhaps a cooking surface, and above all no culinary skills, and women, often heads of households, who are terribly hard-pressed between their poorly-paid work and their children.

It's important for public health (and local economies) to help people cook better on limited resources. Judgeing them won't help matters, any more than lecturing people about getting more exercise wiil. I also think it is important to teach teenagers how to cook and do basic home repairs. "Home economics" and "shop" or whatever they were called in different places, were horribly sexist, but the idea of teaching basic life skills was not bad at all.

By the way, my caldo verde is great! (and cheap) see what's cooking thread.

Wed, 2016-01-20 19:30

#60

Mr. Magoo

Well, now I wish I'd never posted that judgemental image in #47. Clearly "Grandma" didn't know enough to unpack her backpack of privelege.

Thu, 2016-01-21 00:02

#61

6079_Smith_W

It's just a statement of fact. They did it back then because they had to. Along with hauling water and pretty much everything else. And making stuff on a forge because there was no co-op to go to.

Besides, I leave the judgment to them that know a bit more of what they are talking about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwdZkPmTUfE

Thu, 2016-01-21 00:02

#62

6079_Smith_W

It's just a statement of fact. They did it back then because they had to. Along with hauling water and pretty much everything else. And making stuff on a forge because there was no co-op to go to.

Besides, I leave the judgment to them that know a bit more of what they are talking about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwdZkPmTUfE

Thu, 2016-01-21 00:05

#63

6079_Smith_W

It's just a statement of fact. They did it back then because they had to. Along with hauling water and pretty much everything else. And making stuff on a forge because there was no co-op to go to.

Besides, it is best to leave the judgment to them that know a bit more of what they are talking about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkQG9MH4HHg

Thu, 2016-01-21 10:11

#64

Timebandit Timebandit's picture

Different times and different experiences. My grandmother would have known what to do with dried beans, but as a young adult I'd never dealt with them. We only had canned beans. My mother was also a fan of canned goods and convenience foods a la the 1970s. We only had instant rice. Hamburger Helper was a staple.

I got some basics in cooking, but nothing beyond. Fortunately, my dad introduced me to a few exotic foods and learned to take risks. But no t everyone has the confidence/foolhardiness that I do.

While I don't do McDonald's, there are days when a Sobey's rotisserie chicken and potato wedges are something I'm grateful for. It isn't so much overall time, it's windows. I'm busy until after 5 for example, get home no earlier than 5:30, and need to be out of the house again before 6:30. I have to have a kid fed and in dance or martial arts gear in that one hour window. Sometimes I'm adequately organized and cook something fast, other times I just don't have it perfectly together. Sometimes I have a partner at home who takes part of the load, sometimes he's traveling. So it's possible to learn how to cook from scratch and be organized and sometimes life is more complicated than the possibilities.

(edited to insert paragraph breaks because they disappear when I post from my phone!)

Thu, 2016-01-21 14:16

#65

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
Different times and different experiences. My grandmother would have known what to do with dried beans, but as a young adult I'd never dealt with them. We only had canned beans. My mother was also a fan of canned goods and convenience foods a la the 1970s. We only had instant rice. Hamburger Helper was a staple.

That sounds a lot like my own childhood. Lots of canned vegetables, boil-in-the-bag rice and so on, but also a bit of a skew toward fresh ingredients at times.

But that's kind of my point. How or why do you suppose your family forgot how to soak a bean?

I mean, I get why most of us wouldn't know how to make our own axehead at the forge -- because most of us don't really need an axe all that bad, and if we do, they're not overly expensive.

But we all still eat, and apparently we sometimes eat things like beans or rice or bread. And apparently the cost of food is going up.

Quote:
there are days when a Sobey's rotisserie chicken and potato wedges are something I'm grateful for.

I don't see any problem with that, so long as it's within your budget.

I guess I'm thinking more of people who only ever buy a pre-cooked chicken from Sobey's because they don't want to buy a fresh chicken and put it in the oven themself.

Supermarket rotisserie chickens are actually kind of an interesting example, though, because at my Metro at least, they can often be priced the same as or less than a fresh chicken. If canned beans worked out to be the same price as dried, or if instant rice worked out to be the same price as regular rice then of course I'd say "go for it" and leave cooking food to either the professionals at Sobey's or "hobby chefs" like myself. But I don't think that for most convenience foods that's the case.

Quote:
They did it back then because they had to.

Oh, I'm sure they could have paid someone else to prepare their food if they really wanted to. And I'm sure they had busy schedules back then too.

Thu, 2016-01-21 15:18

#66

6079_Smith_W

It's not a problem if it's within someone's budget?

So if you are carrying debt you'd better not get caught feeding your kids anything fancier than klik and ramen even if you do only have 90 minutes between job one and job two.

I'd include cabbage, but that can take time you probably don't have.

(though I guess this doesn't apply to guys like Donald Trump who has filed for debt restructuring several times)

Don't get me wrong; I'd say we have a pretty similar philosophy when if comes to preparing food rather than buying ready-made. But that doesn't change the fact that in the world we now live in the time to prepare food from scratch is a luxury a lot of people simply do not have all the time. And it has nothing to do with being lazy or not committed enough, though it might seem so from the perspective of those of us who have those resources, and the time, and have learned those skills.

Thu, 2016-01-21 16:23

#67

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
So if you are carrying debt you'd better not get caught feeding your kids anything fancier than klik and ramen even if you do only have 90 minutes between job one and job two.

I'm not sure where this is coming from. Did I suggest that anyone should be trying to "catch" Canadians eating beyond their means? Peering into kitchen windows, or sorting through trash looking for "Pusateri's" bags?

As far as I'm concerned, if you have the money to eat out often, or buy overpriced convenience foods often, go right ahead. Not because you "deserve" it more than anyone else, but because we're discussing the cost of food. If the cost of food isn't a concern for you then by all means, eat whatever the hell you want.

And if the cost of food IS a concern for you, you can still go right ahead and buy whatever you want. I just don't know how much sympathy I'll be able to muster if the cost of a bag of pre-sliced "stir-fry" vegetables skyrockets and leaves you short. If your life is structured such that taking five minutes to slice your own vegetables to save a whack of cash just isn't reasonable, maybe there are bigger things to fix than the cost of cauliflower.

But I do continue to find it interesting that we can discuss the health merits of eating less meat, the reasons for choosing ethically raised meat or sustainable fish, the need to support local farmers and producers, the need to avoid exotic or out-of-season foods that have a monstrous carbon footprint, the merits of a hundred-mile diet, the superiority of organic food, and a whole lot of other food topics in the context of us and our choices, or the average north american and their choices, but as soon as I suggest that when food prices are going up, perhaps we might save some money and still eat healthy if we cook foods that have always been (and continue to be) relatively inexpensive then the conversation promptly turns to the guy living in his car with no stove and no fridge, or the single mother of seven who works four jobs.

I get that cooking food, rather than paying for someone else to cook it, isn't going to work 100% of the time for 100% of Canadians. But is just fretting about food costs and hoping that Mama Michelina's drops their prices really any kind of remedy for anything? Is that the best plan for eating affordably and well?

Thu, 2016-01-21 16:57

#68

6079_Smith_W

I think we started to go a bit sideways around the question of whether it is just "culvert dwellers" who don't have an entirely free choice here, and whether we are really just talking about 10 percent.

Because as much as I agree with you in theory, it isn't quite that simple. And believe me, I do try, and come up short enough that I don't consider that those who resort to going to Giant Tiger or WalMart just aren't exploring their options. Given the growing level of household debt, I don't think it is all a result of bad choices.

There are plenty of other areas where people's needs don't add up with their time and their budget, and they are left with no choice but to go into the red. The difference is that we don't quesiton why someone doesn't get up at 5am and walk 90 minutes to work rather than buying that bus pass, because unlike cooking, that isn't something that those of us who DO have the luxury of time do for enjoyment.

Thu, 2016-01-21 17:12

#69

lagatta

I've never eaten a Michelina's. I have eaten Klik - I try to avoid that for health reasons (mechanically-extruded meat sub-product), but I confess to a sort of nostalgic appeal. Though it is never as good as one remembered it (fried up with potato and onion). I just don't "get" Michelina's, as pasta is very quick to cook, and one can do it on a hotplate. I wonder if it was Klik way back then. Don't think it was Spam...

As for the rôtisserie chickens, could they be a kind of loss leader? I know that when I go to the Vietnamese superette at the corner of St-Denis and Jean-Talon, it really is no cheaper to buy a frozen duck than a bbq one (not counting the electricity or of course the labour involved). I haven't had one in quite a while; I'll definitely have one when my friend K returns from Cuba... she enjoys her stays there, but I don't think there is any duck.

Silly me, I picked up 5lb of yellow potatoes for $1.25, and had also bought three tins of tomatoes and other heavy stuff. At Metro, which isn't "far", but it is over 1 km. I never notice the distance because the southeast Asian shops, the great Moroccan butcher's and Jean-Talon Market are in-between. Had I known the potatoes were on sale, I'd have taken my granny cart. Oh well, suppose I got an "upper-body workout".

Some surprisingly good things are relatively cheap, such as the frozen duck livers and duck hearts (packaged separately) at a shop that specializes in Lake Brome ducks.

Thu, 2016-01-21 17:31

#70

Timebandit Timebandit's picture

Quote:
But that's kind of my point. How or why do you suppose your family forgot how to soak a bean?

Oh, that's easy. Canned goods were relatively inexpensive when I was a kid, especially fresh veg out of season, as were a lot of other convenience foods like instant rice and Kraft Dinner. We ate a lot of those. My mother didn't want to do the extra work and they were close enough, in her view, to the from-scratch versions. Processed cheese slices were and still are the norm in her refridgerator. She feels like a lot of from-scratch cooking is just drudgery. In fact, so did my grandmother and she liked using the short cuts that mixes and packaged foods allowed her. I think cooking really felt like a chore for them.

What made me want to learn to cook was my father's approach to food - he didn't do day to day cooking, but he was an avid hunter and fisherman, so we ate a lot of game that he brought home and prepared, and the "finds" he made when he'd stop at a nearby Hutterite colony and bring home cream so thick you couldn't pour it or proper farm eggs or a free range chicken (before they ever called them such a thing), or real old cheddar from the butcher shop. Foraged berries, too. Even my mother got into that, and makes a creditable Saskatoon pie.

Mine's better, though. ;)

Thu, 2016-01-21 17:49

#71

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
Had I known the potatoes were on sale, I'd have taken my granny cart.

I couldn't help but think of this thread when, today, I walked past an older Asian fellow pulling a bundle buggy filled with 24kg of Jasmine rice.

Quote:
And believe me, I do try, and come up short enough that I don't consider that those who resort to going to Giant Tiger or WalMart just aren't exploring their options. Given the growing level of household debt, I don't think it is all a result of bad choices.

Giant Tiger isn't a local thing here, though WalMart sort of is. I'm not questioning where people shop for good value. I know that WalMart isn't really an example of an ethical retailer, but I have no quarrel with anyone who gets what they need there.

Quote:
There are plenty of other areas where people's needs don't add up with their time and their budget, and they are left with no choice but to go into the red.

Again, people are certainly free to spend their money on whatever is most important to them, or makes the most sense. I'm not telling anyone what they "have to do".

But I will say this, not judgementally, but in the interest of common sense:

1. If you have the money for an iPhone, or the latest Samsung "phablet" or whatever, then you probably, realistically, could afford a $5 crockpot from a thrift store, just like mine. Well, yours will probably have a lid, whereas mine broke, so I substitute a cheap glass bowl from IKEA. Possibly, you might also be able to afford a brand new, $22 dollar crock pot from Crappy Tire.

[IMG]http://i67.tinypic.com/5foyog.jpg[/IMG]

2. If you have the time to check your Facebook more than twice a day, or if you can watch a season of your favourite show on Netflix, then you probably have the five to ten minutes it would take to fill your new crockpot with some vegetables, some cheap meat and/or some legumes and turn the "on" switch.

3. If you studied for, and passed, your driver's exam when you were a teenager, so you could get your driver's licence, then you probably have the necessary cognitive function to read, comprehend and use a recipe for "crockpot stew". There are dozens of recipes for this available on the same Internet that hosts your Facebook account.

If you think that a majority of Canadians -- or even a substantial number of them -- cannot afford a cell phone, don't have the time to use that cellphone, and never got a driver's licence because there's too much stuff to learn, by all means let's talk about those Canadians, and what might help them weather the recent uptick in the cost of food.

Thu, 2016-01-21 18:14

#72

6079_Smith_W

Magoo, you don't need to spell out stuff like that. I get it and I agree with you that it can be a money saver (so long as you know how to deal with leftovers, and the numerous other caveats I mentioned upthread, and plenty more I haven't mentioned, like not knowing how to cook).

And as easy as it might seem to us here, it is not just as simple as knowing how to read.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-woman-to-offer-newcome...

(assuming one has the time to go to that course)

I am not trying to put you on the spot, but there IS an implicit judgment in statements like "whatever is most important to them", especially when we are talking about people sometimes doing the best they can with limited resources. I seriously doubt it is a problem that would be solved even if everyone did boil beans from scratch like us.

Again, sometimes there is not the time. Sometimes you can't get to the store (which might be a cab ride away) where the fresh vegetables are. In our case, the kids don't like my refried beans because they don't have the same texture as the stuff in the can.

Thu, 2016-01-21 18:23

#73

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
so long as you know how to deal with leftovers, and the numerous other caveats I mentioned upthread, and plenty more I haven't mentioned, like not knowing how to cook).

This is what I guess I can't just let go of.

Don't you "deal with" leftovers by putting them in the fridge -- assuming you have one -- and then eat them later??

And as far as not knowing how to cook, how do people deal with not knowing how to drive? By saying "well, I guess that's just not for the likes of me" and taking a cab for the next 60 years? Or do folk seem to say "OK, others have learned to drive so I can too"?

Quote:
I am not trying to put you on the spot, but there IS an implicit judgment in statements like "whatever is most important to them", especially when we are talking about people sometimes doing the best they can with limited resources.

I don't know how else to put it. If eating healthy food for less money isn't actually important to some people then they have my regal blessing to eat whatever they want. I assume they're not concerned with the increasing cost of food, seeing as that's not important to them.

Quote:
In our case, the kids don't like my refried beans because they don't have the same texture as the stuff in the can.

When I was a kid, my father's homemade hamburgers NEVER tasted like a Big Mac, despite being cheaper and healthier. But would he listen? No.

Thu, 2016-01-21 19:27

#74

Misfit

Americans call Saskatoon berries June berries. Everyone knows that Saskatoons come out in July. Toronto has flying beetles called that they call June bugs. June bugs come out in May.

Thu, 2016-01-21 21:13

#75

Timebandit Timebandit's picture

Some people call them serviceberries, too. I suppose they're serviceable... serve a purpose... Anyway, they are nicer than blueberries.

Thu, 2016-01-21 21:24

#76

lagatta

I wouldn't know as I've never eaten them. The very tiny wild blueberries of Lac St-Jean and other parts of mid-northern Québec are exquisite; the mealy big grown ones, not so much.

Thu, 2016-01-21 21:39

#77

kropotkin1951

Saskatoon is named after the berry that is loved so dearly. If anyone is planning a trip to that area they must go to Wanuskewin, a great interpretation centre.

Quote:

Saskatoon berries people enjoy today are the same crop grown and enjoyed by the Aboriginal peoples of Western Canada hundreds of years ago. The name itself is derived from the Cree word “Mis-sask-quah-too-mina”, a word that sounds very similar to “Saskatoon”. The berries were a staple for both Aboriginal people and early settlers. The berries were enjoyed fresh, or steamed and mashed and then left to dry into a brick-like consistency for longevity. Pieces of these Berries bricks were then chipped off as needed and added to soups, stews or simply boiled to reconstitute them.

The bush of the Saskatoon berries was useful to Aboriginal people as well. The leaves and fruit were dried and used to make tea. The wood of the bush itself was weighty and flexible and thus useful in arrows and other tools, basket frames and cross-pieces of canoes. Several parts of the shrub were also used for medicinal purposes.

Several parts of the shrub were used medicinally. Concoctions of the inner bark and roots were used to treat diarrhea, dysentery, painful menstruation, and bleeding during pregnancy. A warm decoction of the stems and twigs, or bark, was used by the women of the Thompson Indians to treat pain and bleeding after giving birth to a child. A root tea was believed to prevent miscarriage. The fruit was also used, along with spruce tips, blue currants and snowberry leaves and stems, as part of a concoction for gonorrhoea. Some tribes boiled the inner bark of the Saskatoon to produce a remedy for snow-blindness; one drop of the strained fluid was placed in the affected eye three times daily. Fruit concoctions were also used for sore eyes and stomach problems.

This latter use, speaks to the nutritional value of the Saskatoon berries, which has been well researched and documented in our own time. The composition of the Saskatoon berries is often compared to that of the blueberries, which has had strong market appeal and marketplace success. The Saskatoon Berries however, has nutritional properties that are significantly higher in protein, fat, fibre, calcium, magnesium, manganese, barium, and aluminum than the blueberries. and are lower in phosphorus and sulfur. Saskatoon berries are also a source of Vitamin A and Vitamin C.

http://www.prairieberries.com/berry.php

https://wanuskewin.com

Fri, 2016-01-22 00:52

#78

Timebandit Timebandit's picture

I have a recipe for saskatoon and rhubarb jam that my great grandmother concocted after she came to Saskatchewan. Very tasty and pretty darned cheap if you forage the berries and grow your own rhubarb - and have the time, of course!

Fri, 2016-01-22 12:37

#79

lagatta

On rabble, there is an "in cahoots" post from Food Secure Canada, including an interview with Diana Bronson, whom some of us may know.

foodsecurecanada.org/resources-news/news-media/cost-food-national-food-policy-should-focus-health-and-sustainability

Some of the points raised could contribute to our discussion.

Sat, 2016-01-23 16:55

#80

Mr. Magoo

The value of the loonie must have really jumped over the last week; today I saw nice, clean, normal-sized cauliflowers for $1.99

I'm thinking of asking my broker to buy up a few hundred, and then if the price goes up again in a few months, sell them for a tidy profit.

Sat, 2016-01-23 17:05

#81

6079_Smith_W

I know you're joking, but like those ads about not putting smoothies in people's christmas stockings and buying gift cards instead, futures markets are a real thing.

Haven't you seen Trading Places? Frozen concentrated orange juice and porkbellies - that's where it's at.

Sat, 2016-01-23 17:42

#82

Unionist

Finally.

Someone dares to tell the [size=18]truth[/size] about cauliflower!

I love this article!!!

[url=http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2016/01/22/cauliflower-is-disgustin... is disgusting at any price[/url]

Please read it. I feel redeemed. And it's hilarious.

Sat, 2016-01-23 18:21

#83

Mr. Magoo

Haters gonna hate.

But I did ponder the uptick in food prices today (while walking down to Chinatown to buy some food) and there's no doubt that a 100% increase in the cost of potatoes would have a much greater overall negative effect than a 300% increase in the cost of cauliflower. I think cauliflower got to be the poster-vegetable because it's always been "one of the cheap ones", even in winter. It's about as exotic or tropical as a turnip.

Sat, 2016-01-23 18:46

#84

lagatta

I"ve personally not observed any increase in the price of potatoes, or ordinary onions. Yes, I'm sure that is why the cauliflower stood out. Of late, it has been used in many odd ways, as a "substitute" for rice or cheese for example. Bizarre.

Sort of like the odd overuse of broccoli some years ago. I was starting to dislike it.

Sat, 2016-01-23 18:53

#85

Mr. Magoo

One thing I'll note, re: potatoes. My local Metro sells 10lb bags of reds, whites and yellows for (typically) between $3.99 and $4.99 or so, but they sell "loose" potatoes of each type for generally about $1.99 to $2.99/lb.

So if you buy even two pounds of yellow-fleshed loose, you're actually way better off just buying the bag.

That said, I usually get my spuds at No-Frills, where they're almost always cheaper than Metro.

Sat, 2016-01-23 20:10

#86

Webgear

Has anyone thought about raising small animals (Chickens, rabbits, pigs) to support themselves?

Maybe get a local farm to raise and butcher them for you?

Sat, 2016-01-23 20:35

#87

lagatta

I got a 5lb bag of yellow-fleshed potatoes (my favourites) for $1.25 this week at Metro. Their prices aren't necessarily the same here as in Toronto, but I think Ottawa might be in the same pricing region as we are. I find more than 5lb rather hard to deal with. If nothing has changed, there are two of you, I'm the only human in my household and Renzo doesn't eat potatoes. Sure, I have friends over, but they have me over too, so that evens out. If No-Frills is the discount banner of the Metro brand, the equivalent here is Super C (or Super Carnaval). There is none remotely close to where I live; I'd have to take two buses a long, long way to get to the closest one, in a remote part of Saint-Léonard, almost in Montréal-Nord.

Sat, 2016-01-23 20:50

#88

Webgear

Lagatta,

I think you are correct about the price region. I picked up a 10lb bag of potatoes for about $2.50 on friday at Metro/No Frills in Brockville.

Sat, 2016-01-23 21:02

#89

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
I got a 5lb bag of yellow-fleshed potatoes (my favourites) for $1.25 this week at Metro. Their prices aren't necessarily the same here as in Toronto

Based on this, I think you're right. :0

Quote:
If No-Frills is the discount banner of the Metro brand, the equivalent here is Super C (or Super Carnaval).

FWIW, No-Frills is a Loblaw's affiliate -- they're in direct competition with Metro.

Funny aside: I've at least twice seen cashiers I recognize from Metro shopping for groceries at NF!

Quote:
I picked up a 10lb bag of potatoes for about $2.50 on friday at Metro/No Frills in Brockville.

Not quarrelling here, but can you tell me more? Because a Metro/No Frlls sounds like a Canadian Tire/Home Hardware.

Sat, 2016-01-23 21:09

#90

Webgear

From my point of view, No Frills is a very basic non-brand name grocery store, Metro has a mid level grocery store with some no-name and brand named products.

Sat, 2016-01-23 21:22

#91

Mr. Magoo

OK. Still not being quarrellsome, but is the store you bought these 'taters at labelled or branded as "Metro/No Frills"? I'm only asking because here they're two very separate and distinct retailers.

Sat, 2016-01-23 21:28

#92

Unionist

I really need people to confirm that no one likes cauliflower - please.

EXCEPTION (and this is the ONLY exception) - subzi.

Sat, 2016-01-23 21:31

#93

Webgear

The price was the same at both stores. Sorry, I wasn't understanding your question.

Even Walmart had good deal.

Sat, 2016-01-23 23:46

#94

kropotkin1951

Unionist wrote:

I really need people to confirm that no one likes cauliflower - please.

EXCEPTION (and this is the ONLY exception) - subzi.

Lets face it cauliflower is one of those vegetables that no body really likes on its own. As long as one can afford the cheese sauce it is alright by me and my grandkids.

Sun, 2016-01-24 01:17

#95

6079_Smith_W

Cauliflower? Steamed with butter and salt is fine by me.

Sun, 2016-01-24 06:16

#96

lagatta

Then No-Frills is the equivalent of Maxi here (Loblaws-Provigo's discount banner). There are Maxis much closer to me than the closest Super C, but not really walkable. Easily cyclable when there is no snow, and both closest to me are near other places I might want to go (a small shopping centre with a Bay, a Canadian Tire and a large Dollarama; a very large Canadian Tire that might have items the little one near my place might not have).

Sun, 2016-01-24 10:53

#97

iyraste1313

sharp rise in food prices?

Wait for the next installment! Food shortages!

What with the paralysis of marine shipping globally? What will happen when the inventories of overseas product wind down?

Sun, 2016-01-24 15:04

#98

Webgear

When food shortages start, people should be well prepared to work in small collective groups to produce thier food.

Those in urban areas should start farming simple easy plants to grow in limited areas.

Sun, 2016-01-24 19:42

#99

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
Wait for the next installment! Food shortages!

Shortages of all foods? Or shortages of foods we kind of like a lot?

Surely a bacon shortage would make the news, but with some creativity and sacrifice, we'd stave off starvation.

Sun, 2016-01-24 19:46

#100

lagatta

At least for the moment there's no WINE shortage...

Sun, 2016-01-24 19:47

#101

iyraste1313

When food shortages start, people should be well prepared to work in small collective groups.....

...thank you for your positive approach to the problem...any of the problems we face with a dying global system...some of course would just call me a doom and gloomer...but I only wish to point to a direction that seems evident and truthful...to provoke solutions...which I myself am engaged in with my limited resources...but which must be tackled with collectively as intellectuals wishing to design and create a better humanitarian world!

Sharp rise in food prices

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