An Arsenal Of Practical Skills Can Protect You From Rising Food Prices

Over the last month or so, Ive noticed a steady increase in the price of a number of food items that I buy on a regular basis. Cereal, bread, crackers, rice, and some canned goods, most of which I buy on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, have suddenly become more expensive. Dont even get me started on the cost of produce.

It can be quite surprising when you go to buy a package of rice crackers, that you purchased one week before for 99 cents, only to find that theyve risen in price to $1.59 a package. Thats a price increase of almost 60 per cent in one week! Then, in the cereal aisle, I find that the club-sized bag of millet and rice cereal for which Ive consistently paid $8.29 for the last two years, now costs $9.29.

Ive heard people talking about the likelihood of rising food prices for a while and fully understand that when the price of oil goes up, so does food cost. Then, there are other factors that can drive food cost up, like when a pest or bad weather devastate crops like wheat, soy beans, and rice.

Understanding that various factors, like the price of oil, will affect the price we pay for food is one thing, but actually seeing the full effect at the grocery store and on your grocery receipts is something quite different. Nothing really hits home until it hits your wallet, right?

Despite the fact that worldwide rising food prices make it more challenging to do so, food cost is still a part of the household budget over which you have the most control. Its becoming more and more apparent, however, that if you depend entirely or almost entirely on others (i.e. grocery stores especially) for your food, it will become increasingly difficult for you to control food cost and more and more of your monthly income will go toward paying for food.

The key to coming out on top and saving money while the rest of the world pays $4 for a head of lettuce is having some knowledge of the practical skills that are needed for food production or preparation; growing food, raising livestock, preserving, curing, cooking from scratch, etc.

Just think, if you and your family started a backyard vegetable garden and were able to enjoy fresh greens, tomatoes, peppers, herbs, broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, squash, you name it, you would save a great deal of money on your grocery bills each year and you would see that vegetables taste a whole heck of a lot better when theyre really fresh.

Then, you could turn those fresh vegetables into delicious meals for your family, using frugal recipes, and your wallet and the health of your family members would be that much better off. Imagine if you raised hens in your backyard for their eggs and meat too. Raising chickens is actually quite simple and requires little money for start-up. It could be a fun family project.

Pre-packaged foods and eating out are detrimental to your food budget, especially when food cost is on the rise because of the factors we discussed previously. You owe it to yourself and your family to decrease or limit your dependency when it comes to the food you eat.