If you think food prices are already high, get ready for more increases in the months to come. In the year ahead, the U.S. Department of Agriculture expects the cost of food will rise as much as 4 percent.
The largest price increases are predicted to be in chicken, beef, pork and dairy products. Produce and orange juice are rising rapidly, as well.
Meanwhile, South Floridians are finding ways to cut costs.
"I go to Wal-Mart for personal items like cleaning products, to Winn-Dixie for meats and Sedano's for Spanish food like cans of beans," said Ricky Horowitz, 31, of Opa-locka, who was shopping at Wal-Mart in Hialeah. "All these items are different prices in different stores, so I go where I have to go and buy in bulk once a month."
The producer price index, which measures changes in wholesale prices, also rose 0.7 percent in March according to the Department of Labor. Energy prices for the month of March rose 2.6 percent after rising 3.3 percent in February.
"You have to be smart how to spend your money with the cost of living going up and your salary staying the same," added Horowitz, a courier driver.
One major Florida grocery chain, Winn-Dixie, said it is negotiating with vendors in an effort to maintain low prices.
"We want solutions for our customers," Winn-Dixie District Manager Tony Jorges said.
Jorges said Winn-Dixie is getting more aggressive about challenging such increases by offering deals in their weekly ads.
"Every week our ads offer different promotions," Jorges said. "With our rewards card, selected items are buy one get one free, and for every $50 spent, you get 5 cents off every gallon on gas at Shell stations."
Feeling jammed, shoppers are expected to cut back — looking more for deals, cutting or printing more coupons and increasingly buying store brands instead of brand names.
Eduardo Alen, 60, a Miami Lakes resident for 20 years, said he sees the prices of groceries rising on everything, and is taking measures to save.
"I buy chicken instead of meat," Alen said, shopping in the same Miami Lakes Winn-Dixie he's been going to for 11 years. "I think the government has just lost control of gas prices, and all this food has to get here by trucks."
Restaurants, too, face higher costs for their ingredients.
The Department of Agriculture projects restaurant prices will increase 3 percent to 4 percent this year.
That's why Horowitz says he doesn't plan to visit restaurants any more often.
"As a family of four, you can't afford to go out so often," said Horowitz, who lives with his wife and two children.
So he relies on stretching leftovers and carefully thinking out his purchases.
"I'd rather do a barbecue than go spend money in a restaurant," he said.
The largest price increases are predicted to be in chicken, beef, pork and dairy products. Produce and orange juice are rising rapidly, as well.
Meanwhile, South Floridians are finding ways to cut costs.
"I go to Wal-Mart for personal items like cleaning products, to Winn-Dixie for meats and Sedano's for Spanish food like cans of beans," said Ricky Horowitz, 31, of Opa-locka, who was shopping at Wal-Mart in Hialeah. "All these items are different prices in different stores, so I go where I have to go and buy in bulk once a month."
The producer price index, which measures changes in wholesale prices, also rose 0.7 percent in March according to the Department of Labor. Energy prices for the month of March rose 2.6 percent after rising 3.3 percent in February.
"You have to be smart how to spend your money with the cost of living going up and your salary staying the same," added Horowitz, a courier driver.
One major Florida grocery chain, Winn-Dixie, said it is negotiating with vendors in an effort to maintain low prices.
"We want solutions for our customers," Winn-Dixie District Manager Tony Jorges said.
Jorges said Winn-Dixie is getting more aggressive about challenging such increases by offering deals in their weekly ads.
"Every week our ads offer different promotions," Jorges said. "With our rewards card, selected items are buy one get one free, and for every $50 spent, you get 5 cents off every gallon on gas at Shell stations."
Feeling jammed, shoppers are expected to cut back — looking more for deals, cutting or printing more coupons and increasingly buying store brands instead of brand names.
Eduardo Alen, 60, a Miami Lakes resident for 20 years, said he sees the prices of groceries rising on everything, and is taking measures to save.
"I buy chicken instead of meat," Alen said, shopping in the same Miami Lakes Winn-Dixie he's been going to for 11 years. "I think the government has just lost control of gas prices, and all this food has to get here by trucks."
Restaurants, too, face higher costs for their ingredients.
The Department of Agriculture projects restaurant prices will increase 3 percent to 4 percent this year.
That's why Horowitz says he doesn't plan to visit restaurants any more often.
"As a family of four, you can't afford to go out so often," said Horowitz, who lives with his wife and two children.
So he relies on stretching leftovers and carefully thinking out his purchases.
"I'd rather do a barbecue than go spend money in a restaurant," he said.
More like hundreds if not thousands of years... right after someone accepted a shell as payment.