You're not really surprised though are you Steve?

Yes, like a half-gallon of ice cream is no longer a half gallon, either. Five pound bags of sugar are now four. No difference in price, or even a slight rise in price. That's how they hide food inflation. I'm an extraordinarily careful shopper and I've watched my food budget raise at least ten percent, more like fifteen in the last two years and I buy less and less costly choices. And yet the primary hue and cry from the public has been over gasoline prices? The cheapening of ingredients and quantities is even more well hidden in highly processed foods where they can cheat with fillers like corn starch and wood pulp (you heard me right and it's prevalent in such common items as salad dressings and ice creams under various fancy sounding pseudonyms)

I guess I am not much surprised at anything today.

Steve, do you have a Trader Joe's near you? Awesome whole bean coffee selections at relatively cheap prices, including one 100% Colombian Supremo varietal.

If you like Colombian you might also like their Costa Rica Tarrazu.

Karen

Here is a link that might be useful: TJ's coffee

Seems every time I go shopping the amount in my cart gets smaller (the nearest shop cut inventory) but the costs go up.

Thanks Karen. There is a Trader Joes not far from me. Will give them a try.

I feel like I need to be part scientist, part mathematician, part nutritionist, very creative, dedicated to spending time at several stores and more time in the kitchen, and lately part magician to complete the job of finding, obtaining & cooking a reasonable menu with the same amount of money while the prices keep rising and the packages keep shrinking &/or becoming filled with substitute ingredients. Why is the generic powdered sugar cheaper? It's not sugar, it's corn starch. Why is the store brand of some jelly or sauce cheaper? They skipped the real stuff and just filled the bottle with high fructose corn syrup. We love coffee, too, one of those things that's not possible to grow at home.

Steve, the Trader Joe's "Dark" coffee beans in the blue container (not to be confused with "Medium" in the brown/tan container) is $4.99 for about 13 oz. And really, really good stuff.

Karen