Grocery Prices on the Rise

This is going to be a short post, as it is Solstice and the last thing I want to do is waste too much celebration time on The Night The Light Returns blogging. But I wanted to write this up before I forget. I went to the grocery store. It was a nightmare in many different ways, not the least of which was the sticker shock. Prices have gone up since the last time I went in. A lot in some cases. They’ve been steadily increasing for a while now, but this sudden jump was quite shocking. Take oatmeal for instance. I keep several months worth on hand. When I start a container I write it on the list to replace. Today I had it on the list, and it has gone up 30 cents since I bought it last! Which wasn’t that long ago. Everything except the special loss leader items had increased in price by at least a few cents.

It’s not like this was unexpected. I knew it was coming and have made preparations, but I didn’t expect it to be this fast or this rapid. The question is, is this a fluke or it the first sign of an emerging trend? Is it just happening here or elsewhere? And if we are all ready having price increases of this sort, how much longer will it be before there are bare shelves in some stores?

At any rate, that’s enough gloominess for tonight. Happy Solstice everyone!