Food prices rise, portion sizes shrink
| Saturday, Dec 10 2011 09:41 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Dec 10 2011 09:43 PM
"We don't see food prices turning around for a while. Consumers should see prices continue to rise next year, but not as quickly as they have been."
-- Rich Volpe, U.S. Department of Agriculture research economist
If you feel as if your usual grocery budget doesn't go as far these days, it's not your imagination.
Food prices are rising, and packaged food sizes are shrinking.
Prices for food and beverages consumed at home have been creeping up steadily since about May of last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index.
As of October -- the most recent data available -- the index was up 6.2 percent over October of last year.
The gross value of all agricultural commodities produced in Kern County last year was $4,757,260,700, up 31 percent from 2009, according to the Kern County Department of Agriculture and Measurement Standards.
Tehachapi mother of three Robyn Odneal said her family is feeling it.
"I've been blessed to be able to stay at home, but now it's like, wow, I'm going to have to go back to work just to feed these guys," she said while loading about $150 in groceries into her car at a northwest Bakersfield WinCo.
Odneal tries to stock up on food whenever she finds a sale, which is easy to do because the family has an extra pantry in the garage.
Also, she bakes more, which is cheaper than buying goods that are already baked; and she finds herself shopping in places she never used to go to before, like the Dollar Tree.
Yet even with all that, it's hard to stay ahead.
"I'll be lucky if all this lasts a week," Odneal said, indicating her trunk full of groceries.
U.S. Department of Agriculture research economist Ricky Volpe says the culprit is a triple whammy: commodity prices across the board are high so food manufacturers are passing along the cost of acquiring raw materials; the weak dollar has increased demand for domestically produced food abroad; and fuel prices have driven up the cost of manufacturing and distributing food.
Get used to it, Volpe said.
"We don't see food prices turning around for a while," he said.
"Consumers should see prices continue to rise next year, but not as quickly as they have been."
Prices are expected to be up 4 percent to 5 percent this year, and maybe 3 percent to 4 percent next year, Volpe said.
Meanwhile, food producers have been reducing package sizes to hold down costs.
Most single servings of yogurt have gone from 8 ounces to 6 ounces, for instance. Cereal boxes, on average, are about 2.4 ounces smaller than before.
"Those smaller package sizes are becoming more and more the norm," said Dave Heylen, spokesman for the California Grocers Association. "Across the board, you see it in almost all areas of the grocery store."
Retailers have tried to buffer consumers from price increases, but they don't have much room to maneuver because supermarket profit margins typically are less than 3 percent, Heylen said.
Paul Fuentes, 31, of northwest Bakersfield, is annoyed that he's paying higher prices for less food.
"It used to be I'd spend $20 on a big package of pork chops and it was enough to feed my family for a meal or two," he said. "But what are you going to do? You have to buy what you need."
Melissa Martin, who has a preschooler and a baby on the way, called food prices "ridiculous."
She tries to shop in Bakersfield instead of at home in Shafter because supermarket prices are better here.
Her husband, Billy Martin, said the couple buys a lot more generic and store brand products than they used to. But a hungry boy is a hungry boy.
Watching his parents load groceries in a supermarket parking lot, the Martins' 4-year-old son, Luke, couldn't make up his mind when asked about his favorite food.
"Well, I like everything," he said cheerfully.
His mother shrugged helplessly.
