Grocery costs soar in Anchorage
Originally published Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 8:58 a.m.
Updated Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 2:09 p.m.
ANCHORAGE -- Grocery shoppers in Anchorage are suffering from sticker shock.
It's evident at the Carrs grocery stores where a loaf of all-grain bread can cost $4.50.
It was obvious at the Costco on the east side of the city, where fears over the availability of rice and price increases nearly caused a small stampede Monday morning. Four pallets of rice vanished in less than 15 minutes.
After years of remaining stable, food prices in Anchorage are up.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service said it appears that food for an Anchorage family of four shot up 10 percent in the first three months of this year.
The price increases can be seen in the faces of morning diners at Bean's Cafe, which increasingly caters to Anchorage's "working poor." They tell staff they can't afford to buy their own food the last half of the month.
Some items have shown sharp increases. From March 2007 to March 2008, ground beef rose 18 percent, eggs 22 percent, white bread 33 percent, cheddar cheese 61 percent and rice 85 percent.
Experts blame a variety of factors, from global-warming-related droughts to higher shipping costs because of rising fuel prices to farmers choosing to grow government-subsidized biofuel crops rather than food crops.
"You talk to any retailer or wholesaler in town and they're going to tell you the same thing," said Costco manager Bob Ripley. "Prices are going up across the board - with gas and everything else."
Community Discussion
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Why do you people worry about prices that low.....in other places it is $10 a loaf.
Those that suffer first and most sever are the old, disabled and young that must choose between food, heat and medical bills. Has the cost of living for this part of our society even been considered?
Our food bill has risen more than 10%
Bread alone (generic store brand) has risen 40-50% alone
Once again, who cares about Anchorage. Boo hoo. Carrs Safeway is the most expensive store, so the $4.50 bread is NORMAL. The poor folks dont shop there. I for one, love going to the Hostess Thrift shop and getting "unsold" bread. They have Hostess stores in Anc too.
Gee thats to bad about Anchorage maybe soon they might catch up with us in Fairbanks, gas prices sure haven't yet. If they feel it down there remember what we feel up here, maybe then we might get some relief but doubtful.
We're just gonna have to eat less and better. Keeps my weight down already! I buy markdowns all the time. Eat fresh veggies, eggs, yogurt, soup, less milk needed for adults anyway. And,...save gas walk more.
Good luck!
As long as the Federal Reserve and other world central banks keep printing money at double digit rates above GDP and so-called media "experts" keep blathering that global warming and oil companies are to blame: Expect long, slow economic death by stagflation followed by hyperinflation.
Within a few years, many of us will no longer be able to afford live up here.
Hold on tight,
here we go-inflation is gonna keep going up.
Time to learn frugality once again.
oh yeah they get lower gas prices in anchorage...now we wonder why. Because instead of refining the gas in north pole...they send it down on a train to be refined in anchorage. Then they truck it back to Fairbanks where we are forced to pay more for it because of the truckers...doesnt that just make wonderful sense. Where is that new governor of ours and why isnt she fixing this problem???
Federal mandate of low sulfur fuel is the problem-nothing a governor can fix. Enviromentalism is not cheap.
Maybe there are too many people in Anchorage--some of them need to move. Also, what do you want the Governor to do, declare price controls on bread?
Maybe soon Bush and Bernake will recognize inflation as a problem and not a middle class mirage.
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