Shoppers fed up with higher grocery bills

Bigger food bills caused by trends abroad, pricey veggie of many uses: corn

Blame it on ethanol, gas prices and more demand for grain in China.

Ellie Arnold doesn’t care about the causes. She just knows her $300 monthly grocery budget is stretched to the max.

“That’s what I budget at, and we’re staying there,” she said during a recent shopping trip at a local produce market. “I’m being real careful. Food is the only thing we can cut.”


Her experience is becoming more common this summer as food prices in just about every category have increased.

Meat and dairy products have spiked the most, but processed foods have gotten more expensive because of the corn they contain. Some fruits, vegetables and frozen juices cost more because of bad weather in the growing regions.

In the Houston area, grocery prices rose 0.9 percent in July, on the heels of a 0.4 percent increase in June, according to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A basket of groceries that cost $100 in July 1984 and $183 a year ago would cost nearly $190 today.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans reported paying significantly more per week