Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Sticker shock at the grocery store

The inevitable result of the unrestrained printing of money.
In nearly every supermarket aisle, food prices are starting to rise.

General Mills just announced higher prices for breakfast cereals, Yoplait yogurt and Nature Valley granola bars. Last month, it raised prices on flour, pizza rolls and Green Giant vegetables.

Hormel Foods recently raised the price of Spam and Jennie-O turkey, with more increases to come. Caribou Coffee said it will follow other coffee sellers in raising prices. And Target's chief executive said last week, "We will need to raise prices to offset higher costs."

After years of quiet on the inflation front, a six-month spike in the prices of grain, meat, dairy, energy and oil is squeezing through the U.S. food system. The wave hasn't hit consumers full-on, but it's coming.

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