The global pandemic means thousands of people are staying home to unleash their inner chef; sitting down to order a bite at a restaurant has become a thing of the past for much of the country. While undoubtedly a healthier choice than most takeout options, cooking at home comes with its own hurdles. Grocery prices have gone up as a result of so many people self-quarantining.
While the cost of eating food at home is on the rise, some grocery prices have increased more than others. “You’re not going to get as good a deal on [grocery] products today as you would have back in February,” David Driscoll, an analyst covering packaged food at DD Research, told CNN Business. The cost of meat, fish, and seafood has increased by up to 8 percent, flour has increased by 2 percent, coffee has increased by nearly 2 percent, and fresh produce has increased a little more than 1 percent. Baking your own bread and making salads for lunch has probably hurt your weekly grocery budget, but not all of your staples have skyrocketed. In fact, some have actually declined in price.
It’s easy to overspend on groceries; here’s what a dietitian does with $30 at Trader Joe’s:
Now would be a good time to stock up on a handful of groceries you may have left off your list in recent months. Rice and cheese have decreased in price by 0.2 percent, apples have decreased by 2 percent, and eggs have decreased by nearly 3 percent. In addition, milk and butter have also become more affordable with a decrease of 0.6 and 2 percent, respectively, allowing you to put your baking skills to the test. There’s no saying how long these more affordable grocery prices will last, though.
Even though grocery prices are zig-zagging all over the place, you can always count on all those avocados you stockpiled in your freezer.
Here’s how a dietitian spends $30 at Whole Foods:
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