The Astronomical Price of Strawberriesby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 05 Jul 2008 05:45 AM
Exactly two weeks ago, I did some shopping for produce at our local farmer's market. The prices there aren't the best I can get, but I always know that the food is fresh and in good shape. Having to throw out produce from our grocery store lately, I figure extra price is worth not having any waste. For example, although the local grocery store had a sale on strawberries, the cartons all contained bruised and mold fruit. A sample provided by the produce manager proved that even the good-looking strawberries were bitter. So, I've been pretty happy shopping at the farmers market, as mentioned above. On that trip, I spotted whole flats of strawberries for $15 a flat. While this wasn't a bargain price, it was reasonable enough in my area at the time. I made a mental note. A flat of strawberries would be perfect for our upcoming birthday party celebration. The next week, on the way to the party that was taking place in a local park, we stopped to pick up a flat, hoping that there would be one available. The clerk wasn't sure of the price, so I told him that I had seen them there last week for $15. He went to go and check with the manager. When he came back, he told me that the price had risen to $32 for a flat. I must have looked astounded because the clerk apologized and asked if I still wanted the strawberries. I could wrap my head around a more than 100 percent increase in a week, so I said I would have to think about it. I went over to the single pints of strawberries, thinking that I might be able to find a better deal there, or maybe just purchase less. Each pint was $5.98! Three pints would cost me more than an entire flat of strawberries just the week before. So, I passed. Have you noticed any huge increases in price of a particular food? Have you altered your food buying because of it? Please let me know. Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. Starting June 1st, don't miss her articles in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here. Related Articles: New Grocery Shopping Techniques New Grocery Shopping Techniques (2) How Much Does It Cost to Eat at Home? Save Money When Eating Out: Ordering Strategies Reducing the Temptation of Eating Out Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments AuntJamelle (125) 07 Jul 2008 09:42 AMThe price of fresh strawberries is really hard to swallow when half the package is too old to eat - that is for sure! My solution to this particular problem has been to find a local U-pick and pick my own, freezing the extra, and then finally to grow my own. People use tiered planters or special strawberry pots to save on space, or you can just plant them in the ground like I did. They spread via runners and will take over if you aren't careful, but it definitely beats paying store prices. I ordered strawberry plant starts from a catalog and then left the poor things unplanted for weeks. They survived though and by the second year I had a great crop. But of course this route doesn't help the lack of fresh berries the rest of the year...  Mary Ann Romans (26791) 07 Jul 2008 10:47 AMI would love to grow strawberries. I amy try my porch, because unfortunately my backyard is full of wildlife that would love to eat the strawberries as well! Samual (11722) 22 Jul 2008 03:34 PMMine are £2.99/$6ish for 400g. Community Tags food cost, frugal, grocery shopping, rising food prices, strawberries Discuss this article
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