Angry about your big grocery bill?
Chew on this: Our already high food prices are expected to climb even more this year, from 3.5 percent more for chicken to 8 percent more for beef and veal.
Blame soaring gas prices, rising costs for commodities like corn and wheat, and a bigger global demand for a smaller food supply. They're all pushing our food bills to unprecedented highs, with no immediate relief on the horizon.
Local grocers and shoppers say they can't remember when so many foods were this expensive.
"Everything has gone up," sighed Burt Saltzman, chairman of Dave's Supermarkets, tossing up his hands. "Every day, we get a list of new increases" on top of what's already still pricey.
"Tomatoes have never been this high. They're $3 a pound and usually this time of year they're $1.79 or $1.99.
"Asparagus is high, onions are high, peppers are high. Cucumbers were like $30 for a box of 24, more than twice what they were before. In all my life, I've never seen cucumbers that high."
'The most significant across-the-board increases I've seen in my life.'
Tom Heinen, co-president of Heinen's Fine Foods, said that without a doubt, "these are the most significant across-the-board increases I've seen in my life."
