A whiles back I brought up the subject of high grocery prices and y'all
piped in pretty much concurring that groceries were more expensive.

The last several weeks have been something of a pleasant surprise: there
have been some really good sale prices lately on things that were fairly
costly for a long while. I'll give some examples (FYI I shop mainly at
Treasure Island Foods here in Chicago..I also buy a lot at the Walgreen's
drugstore chain because they have good sales on things. I also shop cheapo
Asian places; my corner convenience store is run by Pilipinos and they have
a large selection of sauces, canned goods, rice, etc. at really cheap
prices...and I have a nice little Saturday farmer's market down the street):


Milk: it's been running $2.29 - $2.69 per gallon. Treasure Island has it for
a $2.99 "everyday price". Quite a drop from earlier...

Eggs: $0.39 per dozen (limit 2 with $10.00 purchase;afterwards $0.79)

Butter: $0.99 per lb. (limit 2 with $10.00 purchase;afterwards $2.00/lb)

Ice cream: Edy's Grand 2 for $5.00 (big container); Haagen Daz, Ben &
Jerry's (pints) 2 for $5.00

Chicken: $1.99/lb for boneless breasts; 5 lb+ trays of chicken quarters,
legs or thighs have been about $0.39/lb

Pork: $1.99/lb for nice boneless sirloin roasts and assorted big thick
cutlets and chops (pork has been pretty reasonable all along). I adore pork
so I'm happy )

Beef: It was virtually a luxury item for a time, but the price is coming
down to something I can indulge in once in a while e.g. sirloin steak for
$5.98/lb

Turkey: $0.99/lb for a big roaster, "fresh" or frozen

Ketchup: Heinz @ $0.79 per 24 oz. bottle. Also good prices on BBQ sauces
('though I usually make my own)...

Mayo/salad dressing: Kraft was $1.49 for a 32 oz bottle; this week
Hellman's is $1.99. Henri's salad dressings were $0.99 recently

Canned veg: Del Monte or store brands 2/3 for $1.00

Canned soup: Campbell's Chunky 19 oz @ $0.99; Progresso 19 oz @$0.99 (with
all my vegetables I'm starting to make my own)

Pasta: Racconto (my everyday Eye - talian brand) @ $0.69 for all varieties;
Kraft Mac 'n Cheese ("Kraft Dinner" to you Canucks) 2 for $1.00

Fresh produce: it's cheaper but of course 'tis the season. Last Saturday I
bought four huge shopping bags of Indiana - grown produce at our local
farmer's market for about $15.00 - beautiful red bell peppers as large as
yer head, salad greens, beets, REAL tomatoes, zukes, cukes, lovely sweet
carrots, radishes, jalapenos, string beans, dill, peaches, etcetera
etcetera. I made dinner for five on Sunday night and cooked up a big amount
of stuff for our corner bar Labor Day cookout the next day and I still have
a goodly amount left...and the quality of the Indianer produce *far* exceeds
the soopermarket stuff...

I was talking to My Friend The Chef and she said that the wholesale prices
they are paying for most everything are down a bit...

Anyways my freezer and larder are full. I'm well - stocked. I'm not poor
and I'm not cheap but I am a "frugalista" and I like value for money,
'specially when it comes to my comestibles...

--
Best
Greg