Back when I was in art school, the fancy pants Pepperidge Farm bread loaves cost a whopping 39 cents. I lived with some fellow students in a third floor walk up apartment without air conditioning in the Deep South. We all agreed this was far too much money to pay for a loaf of bread. Back then a dozen eggs were 62 cents and a loaf of white bread was 23 cents. Of course, the minimum wage was $1.60, and we were starving artists.
I shop for food, just like everyone else who doesn’t subscribe to a weekly box delivery. I’m a sale shopper, which means I buy what’s in season and what the grocer is promoting. This doesn’t always mean I get what I want, but I don’t shop at Burger King, I shop at my local supermarket.
The good news is omelettes are back on the menu at Cornie’s Kitchen! When eggs were at close to $4 per dozen, I rationed them as if they were gold. Now a dozen large eggs are $1.49! Here’s some good news:
Inflation has fallen for 11 months in a row, and grocery prices have come down over the past few months with a sharp and welcome drop in egg prices – that’s some breathing room for middle class families.
Back about 1974, I was working in a local grocery store when President Gerald Ford tackled inflation with his WIN campaign—Whip Inflation Now. Inflation was running at 12% annually and Ford proposed it could be brought under control if all Americans refused to buy products from merchants that raised their prices. Alan Greenspan, a top economist, realized this was like “cutting off your nose to spite your face.” It would only harm the economy and merchants, plus people wouldn’t have what they needed. People began to wear the buttons upside down: No Immediate Miracles.
At Cornie’s Kitchen, our inflation fighting tools remain the same. We still recommend checking the app, flyer, or website of the store you frequent. Then clip the coupons, make a list for your weekly menu, buy only those items, and ignore impulse purchases. If you’re not going to eat a whole quart of something, you don’t save money by buying the larger size. Buy the pint instead.
If this seems time consuming to my kitchen peeps, I’d like to quote Tom Hanks in Castaway: “Time is money!”
If we’re going to fuss about how much things cost, let’s take action about it. Otherwise we’re just blowing into the wind and making ourselves sick for nothing.
This has been a word from your great grandmother, who has a cookie always ready to sweeten whatever hard talk she dispenses to her younger kinfolk. Let’s all bake in the early morning or late at night, to save on energy costs. OR—buying bakery cookies in the summer is a good solution also, since they can heat up their facility and you can keep your home cool instead.
Joy, peace, and cookies,
Cornie
What Did Things Cost in 1969. http://www.whs69.com/69/69inhistory/69inhistory.html
Gerald Ford’s Response to Inflation. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/11/16/gerald-ford-whip-inflation-now/
Cornie's Kitchen 