High food prices change buying, eating habits

By Seth Rosen, Media General News Service
Published: April 20, 2008

For Claudette Greene, the days of buying brand-name food at the grocery store are over.

Prices have escalated so sharply in recent months that Greene has been forced to curtail her shopping habits and to use ingredients more sparingly. She's become skilled in the art of bargain shopping, traveling from store to store along U.S. 29 in Charlottesville in search of the best deal.

On a recent morning, Greene spent $65 on groceries that she said would have cost her less than $30 only a year ago.

"I can't even buy gallons of milk anymore because it's too high," Greene said as she exited a Kroger store.

As food prices rise at their highest clip since the first Bush administration, residents and businesses across the Char-lottesville area are feeling the pinch. The soaring cost of staple items has compelled some restaurants to raise prices and obliged residents already burdened by record-high gas prices to scale back their consumption.

The rampant food inflation has, of course, hit the area's poorest residents the hardest, resulting in a spike in the number of people visiting local food banks and enrolling in food stamp programs.

"Prices are going up for everything, so people are looking for whatever help is available to help them meet their household expenses," said Susan Moffett, who runs the food stamp program for Charlottesville's social services department.

Retail food prices jumped by 4 percent last year, the highest spike in 17 years. And the problem has only gotten worse in the first few months of this year.

The cost of many basic grocery items has skyrocketed just in the first quarter of 2008, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation: the price of a dozen large eggs has gone up 34 percent; cheddar cheese up 15 percent; white bread up 10 percent.

The hefty increases are the result of a confluence of factors, including higher energy and transportation costs, lofty commodity prices, a faltering dollar and strong worldwide demand, especially in Asia.

The combination of higher food and energy costs has meant more Charlottesville and Albemarle County residents have been seeking government assistance.

This month, the city has 2,010 food stamp cases, up from an average of 1,854 in the past fiscal year. In Albemarle, the figure has jumped from an average of 1,400 cases in fiscal 2007 to an average of 1,523 in this fiscal year.

"I've heard from families that 'gas is going up so much, I'm having to put money from the food budget to pay to go to work,' " said Kathy Ralston, director of Albemarle's social services division.

More area residents are also patronizing local food banks. The Central Virginia Foodbank distributed food 15,700 times in February to Charlottesville-area residents, up from 14,700 times in February 2007.

"Hardly a day goes by that we don't get a call from someone new," said Becky Smith, first vice chairwoman of the Emergency Food Bank in Charlottesville.

Restaurants have also been hit hard. The price of flour has tripled in the past eight months, hurting businesses such as Bodo's Bagels.

Eight months ago, Bodo's spent $2,000 a week on flour. That figure is now $6,000. As a result, Bodo's will soon increase the price of its bagels by 10 cents.

"It cuts all the profits," said Scott Smith, one of the co-owners of the popular eatery. "The [10-cent] increase doesn't offset the increase in the cost of flour, but it makes the hit less bad."

Local school systems are also hurting from the rising cost of food. Neither Albemarle nor Charlottesville has changed its meal offerings or anticipates raising prices for next year, but their meal budgets are being stretched thin, officials said.

"We are hoping we can hold our head above water," said Alicia Cost, the dietician for the Charlottes-ville school system. "I think it is going to be tight."

Seth Rosen is a staff writer for Media General's Daily Progress of Charlottesville.