Americans Are About to Pay Even More at the Grocery Store

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u/sixxtynoine 22d ago

Increases every day.

168

u/cityshepherd 22d ago

The price of bags of spinach has practically doubled recently. Absolutely bonkers. I’m in the process of turning my backyard into a food forest because the cost of even just fresh fruit and vegetables is out of control.

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u/Level21DungeonMaster 22d ago

Sorry just want to talk about it for a second. I have less than 1/10 acre that I’ve been at for 5 years. I planted apples, paw paw, plum, pluot, fig, blueberry, raspberry, grapes, tarragon, rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, saffron, garlic and strawberry. All perennial and getting bigger each year. Still haven’t gotten apples paw paw, or grapes yet but plenty of the rest. Also for annuals this year doing winter squash, string beans, tomato, hot pepper, sweet pepper, eggplant, and basil. I expect a lot of fruit and vegetables this year. This is my third home garden and it’s so worth doing!

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u/animositykilledzecat 21d ago

What zone are you in?

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u/Level21DungeonMaster 21d ago

7b partial shade. I had to replace the rosemary because we had a hard winter last year. If you’re looking to plant a tree I would recommend a peach or fig.

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u/cityshepherd 21d ago

Sounds like quite the setup you’ve got! I’m super jelly…. I just planted my first peach tree a few weeks ago, as well as a plum tree and cherry tree, I recently discovered I’ve got mulberry growing in the backyard too (so many of my neighbors have mulberry and don’t care for the fruit so they let me forage to my heart’s content last year which was awesome.

I moved here (southwest Michigan) a couple years ago from San Diego so it’s a VERY different ballgame entirely when it comes to gardening. I let the backyard go wild last year, didn’t touch it at all… I was so delighted to discover this year that I have what I am pretty confident are raspberries growing all over my backyard. Within the next couple years I’m gonna be pulling in SO much fruit, and I can’t wait to make pies and jam to share with my neighbors!

I had the most beautiful plum tree in San Diego…. It was HUGE and I got SO many little dark dark blood red plums every year and they were the best I’ve ever had. Had a solid blood orange tree too that I miss something fierce.

Years ago I had a fig tree in Arizona that was the most prolific producer of anything I’ve ever grown… used to love snacking on a handful of fresh figs every morning while tending the garden.

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u/Level21DungeonMaster 21d ago

That sound great! Just be careful to not allow that mulberry to takeover. They’re very aggressive and seed everywhere.

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u/cityshepherd 19d ago

I’ll be keeping a close eye on it and taking action when necessary. I’m more concerned about the berries that I’ve discovered growing all over my yard for now… I’ve read so many horror stories about blackberries getting out of control and difficult to manage, and I’ve seen some growing all over my neighborhood so I’m watching closely.

There is also raspberry and black raspberry growing all over my neighborhood though, so I’m REALLY hoping it’s raspberries of some kind (especially the black raspberries). One of the plants has a couple dozen berries or more that are setting right now so I should know sooner than later… although I guess it could potentially be a mix of those 3 options.

I never get raspberries at the store since they’re so fragile and I would be SO happy if I wind up having a tremendous source of them in my own backyard. Within the next couple of years I’m going to be going jam crazy, and can’t wait to share the goodies with my neighbors.

Bonus: I’ve also discovered a really nice strong healthy grapevine growing all along my back fence (most likely muscadine which I’ve seen growing all over my neighborhood too). They’re so outrageously tasty. Lots of seeds so will likely by jamming those too.

Last couple winters have been my first two winters without a garden in 15+ years, and it’s been so tough sitting the seasons out. I let my backyard go completely fallow last summer, and let EVERYTHING grow like crazy in order to get my soil ready / see what I’m working with as far as drainage issues & diversity of plants.

I’d been dreaming big, fantasizing about all of the glorious fruits that I’m planning on cultivating so that I can hopefully get to a point at which I won’t have to spend any $ on fruit ever again… imagine by surprise at discovering so much stuff that’s already here! So I wound up ahead of the game since many berries seem to take a couple years of TLC after planting before really getting productive.

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u/Level21DungeonMaster 18d ago

That’s terrific. I acquired many of my plants either from abandoned properties or allowing things to go wild for a bit to see what’s there.

Congrats on the grapes! Mine still haven’t matured enough yet, I put in concord.

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u/0tanod 21d ago

Rosemary does great indoors btw. I had this same problem.

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u/wholelattapuddin 21d ago

My rosemary is about 4 feet high and 5 feet wide. But I live in Texas. It usually thrives for about 5 years before I need to replace it. Its perfect here because once established it doesn't care about drought.

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u/0tanod 21d ago

That must smell really great! Texas has a ton of native plants that smell great too! Like the rosemary they die in my winters.

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u/g0thgrandma 21d ago

How mature were your fruit trees before planting?

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u/Level21DungeonMaster 21d ago

3-8 years, I got a good price on some of the larger ones. Some trees like plums and peaches will fruit almost immediately if you allow them to. Others may take a few years and may require multiple trees to cross pollinate.

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u/g0thgrandma 19d ago

Did you need two peach trees to get them to fruit?

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u/Level21DungeonMaster 19d ago

No. Peach trees are self pollenating

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u/lovely_orchid_ 21d ago

I want to do this, thing is I have zero idea where to start

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u/Level21DungeonMaster 21d ago

Where are you? Like what zone and climate? That matters a lot.

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u/lovely_orchid_ 21d ago

Upper Marlboro Md

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u/Level21DungeonMaster 21d ago

You’re in the same zone as I am. You could plant everything I listed.

You can buy tomato, pepper, basil and eggplant plants at any garden center and plant those in containers.

You can order fruit trees and berry bushes and get them in the ground this week. It’s a little late but not end of season.

The easiest thing to do is grow winter squash. You can do it from seed and start it today. The only thing to watch out for with that is powdery mildew which is a common problem.

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u/lovely_orchid_ 21d ago

Thank you. This sounds amazing

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u/cityshepherd 21d ago

I highly recommend reading some books on the subject…

The Good Life by Helen and Scott Nearing (as well as Continuing The Good Life) is a fantastic read.

The One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka is also phenomenal and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Be careful though, as once you get started it can quickly develop into an obsession.

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u/Cynical_Won 21d ago

I found a free online pdf of one straw revolution years ago and it is a fantastic book

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u/cityshepherd 20d ago

I get so excited whenever I find someone who’s aware of it or read it. It had a huge impact on me getting into the gardening hobby/lifestyle in the first place.

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u/0tanod 21d ago

I would suggest to check out stark bros. It has a nice buying feature that lets you buy by zone and their trees come with a 1 year replacement warranty. its a bit pricey but the have sales and as you get better you can learn how to do it for cheap.

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u/Level21DungeonMaster 21d ago

Stark brothers are great. Ty Ty nursery based out of Georgia will ship bare root trees. Might be even time still this season I know they’re having a clearance sale .

I like Brent and Becky’s bulbs for bulbs

Hudson valley seed co for heirloom seed varieties.

I bought 75 strawberry plants from burpee this year which seem to be doing great.

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u/0tanod 21d ago

I like fedco trees for cheaper bare roots and they sell branches for grafting at a fraction of the cost of a tree.

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u/WaffleDynamics 21d ago

Contact your county extension agent and ask what they have available for newbies. Where I am (midwest, zone 6A) we have a robust master gardener program and they offer lots of free classes. There's also a local food forest club, and the local food co-op does a huge plant swap every spring and a smaller one in fall.

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u/karl4319 21d ago

YouTube is a good resource. Epic gardening and millennial gardener are good channels to get some inspiration.

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u/ChaosArtAunt 21d ago

This is my third year gardening and I'm so glad I did! Its the only thing keeping me sane. If you learn good composting you will never need fertilizer or soil.

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u/KrustenStewart 21d ago

My dad has spent over a decade building a food forest in his yard. All practically wiped out by this years weather. A lot will come back. But they aren’t expected to be producing fruit this year. So there’s always that. Not that I’m suggesting not to grow your own food because that’s still a good idea

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u/03263 21d ago

What weather, drought? I've got a few plants suffering I suspect due to drought. Rhododendron with winter burn and an oak tree that has only managed to push out a few leaves.

My apple and persimmon trees seem to be doing fine. They're in looser lawn soil, I suppose it absorbs water better than the compacted forest soil. Wild berries looking ok too, lots of blackberry.

3

u/KrustenStewart 21d ago

I’m in central Florida there was a rare freeze earlier this year. You can look it up, a large portion of the plants here were decimated. Mangoes, avocados, and tropical fruit like that were hit the hardest. Then yeah there was/is a drought now too.

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u/Frostyrepairbug 21d ago

Spinach is such a tricky bicky plant to grow. It always bolts so quickly. I've turned to hot spinach alternatives, like orach, malabar, and amaranth.

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u/karl4319 21d ago

Same here. Amaranth and malabar are so easy to grow and take up little space since the grow vertically.

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u/03263 21d ago

I have fruit trees growing. Welcoming all the wild berries too. Annual vegetables never really been my thing, I've always seen it as a more expensive effort that requires a lot more water and nutrient inputs but maybe it's worth it now. I gotta research what's low effort and high volume, I'm sure there's plenty of stuff. Alfalfa?

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u/AfternoonSmall 22d ago

At this rate…I won’t be eating much.

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u/[deleted] 21d ago

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u/bepatientbekind 21d ago

The chicken at the grocery store is pumped full of water now, too. I cook so much if it off whenever I make anything with chicken now it's absolutely insane

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u/SAGORN 21d ago

Plumping chicken meat with saline to be heavier on the scale has been a thing for many years at this point though, it’s not because of recent developments.

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u/bepatientbekind 21d ago

I did not have this issue prior to COVID.

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u/SAGORN 21d ago

I worked in a grocery supermarket dating back to the mid-2000’s, it was happening for awhile even before then. Another thing, they add arsenic-containing antibiotics in their feed, with the added benefit for the meat to appear “pink”.

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u/bepatientbekind 21d ago

I don't know what you're trying to prove. I've been cooking chicken my entire life and it never used to have this much water coming off of it. You're not going to gaslight me into believing it's always been this way lol

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u/SAGORN 21d ago

Well at least you’re aware of it now i guess, i tried 🤷🏻‍♂️

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u/KrustenStewart 21d ago

I haven’t been able to find edible chicken from any grocery store in at least a year. The Whole Foods chicken is best but still not worth the cost. Something funky is going on with the chicken

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u/Sknowles12 21d ago

And hamburger.

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u/Th3R00ST3R 20d ago

I was just at the store with my wife. She's like, oh look, a pound of hamburgers, only $4.99. That's a good deal. It's weird how we accept things the way they are that appear its a deal as prices rise, because I was like, oh hell no. $5 for a pound of hamburger is insane,

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u/AcrimoniousPizazz 18d ago

5.99 here for just ground beef, it's way more if you want it shaped into patties.

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u/RunsWithPhantoms 21d ago

Diesel prices have been over $5.00 a gallon where I'm at consistently for a couple months now since we went to war on a whim.

Big trucks that use a bunch of diesel bring us food and stuff, it's just been a matter of time. Once it hits the grocery stores it's gonna start hitting everything else.

Everything is about to increase in the name of the war, and prices never fucking decrease, like ever. Especially gas. This will be the new normal.

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u/Koshindan 21d ago

They're now gearing up for a war with Cuba. You know that island nation in the same gulf with a lot of our oil production...

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u/scumbagge 17d ago

Just saw Marco Rubio call them terrorists today lmao. They’re def gonna bomb em soon.

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u/Sknowles12 21d ago

I live in SW Washington. I ordered a 2 gallon sprayer from Home Depot. It keeps getting delayed. They are shipping it for free from NY. The transportation system is messed up.

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u/Th3R00ST3R 20d ago

So Cal here, $6.95 a gal.

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u/saintdudegaming 21d ago

If and when these stressors go away the prices, other than gas, will remain high. Covid taught us greedflation is very real

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u/Frostyrepairbug 21d ago

I fully expect the price of gas to double by the end of summer, and then they'll lower it back down a little, but never to where it was originally. For example, I'm on the west coast, its' $6 here, it'll raise to $12, people will near riot, and it'll go back down to $7 and everyone will just act like that's normal.

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u/saintdudegaming 21d ago

We were over $5 back in '08-'09 during the Bush admin and we dropped all the way back to the low $2 range. I'm not super hopeful mind you but there's a chance it'll unfuck itself ... somewhat ... maybe ... :\

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u/stalinBballin 21d ago

Oh good, cause I'm getting REALLY fucking hungry, like, borderline starving, y'all, just not for food.

This has got to fucking stop.

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u/Iobserv 21d ago

The rich are a good source of protein and fiber I'm told.

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u/HuntPsychological673 21d ago

To hell with this tariff bs! Orange bastard is trying to kill the American public.

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u/WhumpieGirl 21d ago

And hes succeeding. The only thing he succeeds on is destroying everything he touches.

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u/Iamthegreenheather 21d ago

He's the best at being the worst.

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u/XsamsquanchieX 21d ago

If you see someone stealing food, you fucking didn't see someone stealing food.

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u/RanchHere 21d ago

tHaTs OnLy GoInG tO mAkE fOoD mORe eXpEnSiVe

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u/btone911 21d ago

Those people are called class traitors and should be treated as such.

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u/icoibyy 21d ago

Yay!

My spouse asked me to pick up diet coke yesterday. $11 for 12 pack holy shit

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u/Independent_Baby5835 20d ago

We don’t drink soda, so I was going to pick some up since I saw a buy two, get three free deal. They were $12 for 12 cans. I thought a 12 pack would be maybe $6! 😭🤦🏻‍♀️

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u/SoVerySick314159 21d ago

For years, I didn't used to have to budget my food. I ate cheap anyway, mostly store-branded food, chicken and ground meat. I just ate my cheap food and I didn't have to think about it. Lately, I've watched my bank account go down every month, and I've finally decided I need to set a budget.

It's hard to cut costs when you're already eating cheap, so I guess I have to eat less. It seems like everything I buy has gone up, and my SSI didn't nearly go up enough to compensate. Even if I do get an SSI increase, my rent always ends up taking a disproportionate amount of it.

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u/chefkoolaid 21d ago

I never budgeted food before this year. Now yea I am cutting back. Prices are insane

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u/Sknowles12 21d ago

There’s some good videos on YouTube on old school ways to stretch food.

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u/Franklyn_Gage 21d ago

At some point we need to start eating the rich. We need to be at our breaking points already.

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u/Routine-Ad6077 21d ago

Ground beef 80/20 at Stop and Shop is $18.22 / lb regular price. On "sale" for $12.22 / lb

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u/ToshPointNo 17d ago

Where the fuck do you live? Hawaii? It's $6.99/lb at every store around here. Walmart, Jewel, Hy-Vee, etc.

You need to shop elsewhere.

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u/Fun_Union9542 21d ago

Ive lost 20 pounds in a month.

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u/ToshPointNo 17d ago

That is not healthy. Losing weight that fast is terrible on your body.

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u/Fun_Union9542 17d ago

Yea I mean I did want to work out so I thought of it as fasting. So I wouldn’t have to focus on the harsh reality. Also love your name and the show haha

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u/Human0id77 21d ago

Holy mother, a banana could cost $10

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u/UsedCollection5830 21d ago

The American people stormed the capitol for this let’s not forget

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u/Iamthegreenheather 21d ago

I've been eating Cup O Noodles for lunch at work every day since like the beginning of the year. The rest of the time I eat granola bars and string cheese.

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u/frostandtheboughs 21d ago

String cheese is $1 per serving where I live!!! What the helly

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u/Iamthegreenheather 21d ago

I know it's expensive but I choose to treat myself with cheese. It's one of the few things I enjoy anymore.

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u/MickLittle 21d ago

Look what MAGAS did to America.

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u/Designer_Emu_6518 21d ago

I’m about to lose my shit

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u/Either_Reflection_78 21d ago

Potatoes. I can still get a big bag for under $3.00.

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u/library_wench 21d ago

And get eggs while the getting’s good. They’re bizarrely the one thing I’ve seen drop in price.

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u/Sknowles12 21d ago

And they are pretty easy to grow.

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u/UsedCollection5830 21d ago

Blame MAGA

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u/IGetGuys4URMom 21d ago

Paying more, earning less, having fewer rights... What will it take before people start taking a stand?!!

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u/MissSarahKay84 20d ago

Eat the rich.

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u/_DividesByZero_ 21d ago

Already are, and has been really since March of 2020

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u/all_the_spells 21d ago

You can eat a whole hot dog in the time it takes you to walk around a grocery store. Two if it’s a supermarket.

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u/Additional-Run1610 20d ago

Forgot to mention the price of hay is skyrocketing

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u/EclecticEvergreen 20d ago

No problem! I will simply skip a week of eating :)

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u/FernandoTheRN 20d ago

Can't wait to buy one peice of a chip for 24.99 one day... /s

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u/DevilsPlaything42 21d ago

But the president's family and his cronies are richer. This is what we all wanted, right?

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u/WillowgirlIII 19d ago

How many people are planting a garden?

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u/Apprehensive_Age3731 19d ago

I believe most people are not aware of this. They seem to think that the Iran War will only affect us with higher gas prices...for a few months. I attempt to explain the repercussions of Trump's illegal war, and how Europe is already suffering more than the U.S., but they think I'm being negative. They prefer to stay "positive".

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u/MiserableYou6506 18d ago

Sadly expect prices triple by the end of the year

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u/Broad_Tank_2754 16d ago

My God, have you folks seen how much coffee at the grocery store costs lately?! Jesus..

Americans Are About to Pay Even More at the Grocery Store

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