When watching your pennies just isn’t helping
As food prices rise, East Coast women share their best tips to save at the store
In these days of skyrocketing prices for necessities like groceries and fuel, it’s even more important to spend money smartly and keep your weekly grocery bill down.
Of course, some people have been finding ways to save money for years now, even before this current inflationary crisis.
“I watch my pennies - it’s going to have to be nickels, now,” jokes Darlene Ramsay, from Springhill, near Tyne Valley, P.E.I.
Ramsay has been a longtime believer in finding ways to save money while still keeping her shelves stocked. She’s been canning for the past 30 years, buying Mason jars and doing the water-bath canning method to preserve vegetables, jams and other foods.
But more recently, she’s moved up one step with her pressure canner, which allows her to can more items at once and is considered the only recommended safe method to can everything from vegetables to meat, seafood and poultry. On the day of this interview, Ramsay was busy pressure canning 10 pounds of chicken.
“That’s 10 bottles of boneless chicken thighs, which is 10 meals,” she said.
A keen observer of social media, Ramsay found much helpful information on pressure canning via various American-based groups on Facebook. “They pressure can everything,” she said.
While a pressure canner can be a “big expense” - a canner with a capacity of 21 litres can run you up to $300 or more - Ramsay notes that a high-quality model will become a big saver for you in the long run.
The pressure canner comes in handy during bar clam season, Ramsay says. She’s among many who head out to the beach to dig up clams, and every season, after picking and cleaning them, she cans up the meat and saves them for the winter.
Ramsay is also a member of a number social media groups devoted to couponing. Being part of these groups means she can find out where to pick up some coupons and she arranges to meet with others across P.E.I. to trade coupons.
She also contacts food companies to ask if they offer coupons, and often, they will ship some out to her.
And while that certainly brings in more business to the manufacturers, it also means savings for her.
“I’m fussy,” Ramsay said. “When I shop for cheese, for example, I won’t go for No Name.”
SKIPPING THE STEAK
In Sambro, N.S., Leslie Harnish said stretching one’s food dollars is something she learned from her mother. Her family would often stock up on chicken or hamburger when it goes on sale, for example, putting most of it in the freezer for later.
“It was really crucial in the early years of my marriage,” Harnish said. “We always kept the freezer or pantry wellstocked for the weeks when the money wasn’t coming in.”
Harnish’s tips for saving money are what one should expect: “watch the prices, look at the sales, cook from scratch if you can, avoid the convenience items.”
But these days, even those tips don’t result in the sorts of savings Harnish is used to.
Cheese, for example, would often go on sale for approximately $4 a package, but now it’s more like $5.
“Everything is like that,” Harnish said. “If you buy 10 items (on sale) that are $1 or $2 higher, that’s $10 or $20 out of their budget.”
When it comes to meat, “we’re not eating very much unless it’s hamburger,” Harnish said. “There will be very little barbecuing of steaks this summer.”
She said even cheap and easy meals like Kraft Dinner and wieners or a side of bologna are impacted.
“We joke about it being a cheap meal, but it’s not cheap any more,” she said.
WHY PRICES ARE RISING
It might feel like we’re helpless to the power of the outside forces that have created this situation.
Kathleen Kevany, associate professor in the Department of Business and Social Sciences at Dalhousie University, said there are several reasons we’re seeing food prices rise.
The pandemic is a major factor, of course, as jobs were lost and supply chains affected. The more pressing factor is the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has severely undermined the growing season in Ukraine and potentially created a “significant” global food crisis, Kevany said.
“In addition to feeding its own people, Ukraine is an exporter of about a quarter of the world’s wheat, it is the seventh biggest exporter of soy, 15 per cent of maize, and the largest producer of sunflower seeds,” Kevany said. “These foods are destined for many countries, particularly Northern Africa and China.”
Global warming is also a threat, Kevany said. The warming planet results in more intense storms, floods — and droughts.
It also warms the ocean and disrupts marine life.
“So aquatic and land-based food systems are under pressure and under producing,” she said.
It doesn’t help that we waste more than 30 per cent of our food, Kevany said.
“When we waste food, we waste precious water, fuel, nutrients, labour, money, and time.”
WHAT TO DO
Even while dealing with factors beyond our control, there are things we can do to keep ourselves health and save money.
Kevany points out Canada’s Food Guide recommends we eat “less resource-intense foods.” She said plant proteins, like beans, nuts and seeds reduce the negative health and environmental impacts of a meat-centred Western diet while still providing important essential nutrients.
“For lunch, there could be hummus, with tabouli, and local artisan multi-grain bread with a fresh green salad,” Kevany said.
“These offer full nutrients and can be satisfying while being less expensive than foods that are processed or fast food.”
She said it’s important to find ways to reduce food waste, whether it’s by reusing leftovers, organizing food in the fridge to be eaten before it spoils, or making shopping lists and sticking with them so as to stay on budget.
“Not shopping while hungry is a helpful tip, too,” Kevany said.
APPRECIATE YOUR FREEZER
In Newfoundland and Labrador, dietitian Marissa Park says one of the greatest tools for those wanting to save money and eat healthy is undoubtedly your trusty freezer.
“Almost everything can be frozen (like) fruit, vegetables, meat and cheeses,” Park said.
The freezer is great for preserving individual portions for times you want a quick lunch, and also for leftovers to save for a later meal.
“You’ll also save money from not getting takeout instead,” Park said.
Shoppers can also search for discounted food approaching their best-before dates.
Common items like bread, meat, seafood or fresh produce are often marked down 50 per cent for quick sale.
“Reduced items are often meant to be used sooner rather than later, but can also often be frozen for later use,” Park said.
“I do this a lot with bread and meat. Also, if I see a bag of spinach 50 per cent off, I’m buying it and throwing it in my freezer to use in smoothies or in a stir fry.”
Park said plant-based proteins, besides being cheaper than animal-based, are lower in cholesterol, and add bulk to your meal as they provide both fibre and protein.
She adds if you do buy meat, try buying tougher cuts of meat at lower cost, then either marinate them or use them in soups or stews so they can cook until tender.
When it comes to produce, she says canned and frozen products are often as nutritious as fresh products.
“Canned and frozen products are convenient, have a longer shelf life and very easy to incorporate into meals to enhance the nutrition,” Park said. “Frozen veggie mixes are a staple in my house, along with canned tuna, lentils and chickpeas.”
CUTTING BACK
While these are all great ideas, the fact remains that higher prices for gas, housing and other things are making things even more difficult for even more people than before.
In Sambro, Harnish noted many of her friends, not otherwise badly off, have cut back on specific purchases.
“They haven’t eaten so much pork (before) as they do now, because it’s the cheapest meat,” she said. “With chicken, they’re not buying the breast; they’re buying legs or thighs.”
Harnish and her husband live 20 minutes away from the nearest gas station and grocery store, so they don’t have the luxury to take a quick trip to get just one or two things.
“If money was freer, you didn’t mind doing it out of convenience rather than need,” Harnish said.
“My husband will pick up groceries on the way home (from work). Or we’ll lump appointments together or do multiple errands (so we make fewer trips to town),” she says.
“The government needs to step in to help people who are struggling. We need an economic stimulus - perhaps give everyone help upfront to boost morale, and then scale it back at tax time.”