MOUNT VERNON — Planting their own garden is something one local couple does to cut down on rising food costs.
Mount Vernon resident Darrell McKenzie said he and his wife, Leona, do what they can to save money on their grocery bill, such as canning foods and clipping coupons. He said they rarely go out to restaurants and don’t travel much either.
“We go to Aldi a lot because food is cheaper there,” he said. “A few years ago we went a lot to Kroger or Big Bear, when it was there.”
Food prices won’t be stabilizing anytime soon, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has predicted a 3 to 4 percent jump in food prices this year, after a 4 percent jump in 2007. Overall retail food prices from 2008 to 2010 are expected to rise faster than the rate of inflation during the period, according to the USDA.
McKenzie said he and his wife are senior citizens on a fixed income, and it’s getting harder to afford groceries.
“I don’t like seeing prices go up,” he said. “It’s getting difficult to buy groceries. We’re trying to buy differently.”
Despite the strain, McKenzie said he thinks there are probably other people that are being hit harder by increased cost of groceries.
Rising food and fuel costs are leading many Knox County residents to apply for food stamps, according to Diane Williams of the Knox County Department of Job & Family Services.
“I’ve seen more people applying for food stamps than ever before,” she said. “Many of them would never have applied in prior times.”
Williams said a sizeable number of residents who could be considered to be middle class are now applying for food stamps. She added that many local residents who visit Opportunity Knox’s job resource room are looking for an extra, part-time job to earn extra money to cover rising food and energy costs.
“When it begins to affect the middle class, then you know it’s affecting low-income residents,” she said.
Williams said some local residents have had their hours reduced at work, which further drives the increase in the number of local residents on food stamps. She said even low-income residents who, for a long time, were able to stretch their paychecks and afford the grocery bill, now have no choice but to go for the assistance, because their paychecks no longer last before the next one comes.
Dairy products rose 7.4 percent in 2007 and are expected to rise another 3 to 4 percent this year, according to the USDA Cereals and bakery products rose 4.4 percent last year and the USDA predicts a 6.5 to 7.5 percent spike in that category. Fats and oils are expected to rise seven to eight percent in 2008, after a 2.9 percent increase in 2007.
Mark Glasper, spokesman for the Ohio Restaurant Association, said fewer consumers are dining out, because they have less disposable income due to current economic conditions. This phenomenon, he said, is particularly evident in areas of Ohio that have lost a large number of manufacturing jobs. He said rising food and energy costs are forcing many restaurants to raise menu prices, lay off employees and even go out of business.
“Independent restaurants are smarting from all of these economic factors, even more than the chain restaurants, which are feeling the pinch as well,” Glasper said. “But the chains generally have better purchasing power and are better able to weather these economic swings.”
He said an ORA survey conducted late last year found that 23 percent of member restaurants say they could go out of business before the end of this year. Glasper added that other factors, such as state legislation that is harmful to the industry, is a contributing factor, and cited recent increases in the state minimum wage, the statewide smoking ban and new legislation that would provide mandatory sick leave for workers.
“Restaurants operate on a very thin margin, so when costs increase greatly, something’s got to give or they go out of business,” Glasper said.
Growing demand for corn-based ethanol is contributing to higher food prices, U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman said Friday. He advocated a gradual shift away from corn-based ethanol made from food such as corn and argued for more diversity in the raw materials use to produce biofuels.
President Bush signed an energy bill in December requiring producers to incorporate more renewable fuels into the national supply: 36 billion gallons by 2022, of which 21 billion calls must be made from materials besides corn.
Rising food prices are being felt outside the U.S. as well. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, chief of the International Monetary Fund, recently called the spike “a serious humanitarian concern” and said greater boldness must be employed to counter the rising costs and the longterm challenges related to the world’s food supply.
“We are already seeing actions at the national level, such as curbs on food exports that have a damaging global impact,” he said.
Strauss-Kahn said efforts to increase biofuel production are well intentioned, yet misguided, policies found in nations with advanced economies.
