One of the surest signs of inflation is the higher prices people have to pay for groceries. And that has led to consumers looking for cheaper alternatives, especially when it comes to protein.
Tiffany Leigh, who lives in Toronto, has been adding crickets to her 18-month-old baby’s diet.
“To be honest, it was not only adventurousness that compelled me to do it but practicality, too — I wanted to cut down on our family's grocery bill,” she told Business Insider.
Leigh explained that her family’s food costs have gone up to $250 to $300 a week, and incorporating insects into their meals helps reduce the expense.
“To supplement the rising prices, I decided to get Cricket Puff snacks, Cricket Protein Powder and Whole Roasted Crickets from Entomo Farms,” she said. “Because I've started rotating these insects with more traditionally expensive proteins like beef, chicken and pork, I've managed to cut my bill down to about $150 to $200 a week.”
The baby doesn’t seem to mind.
“We first tried cricket cheese puffs — which look like Cheetos — and she took to them immediately. My baby devoured them with delight and didn't notice the slight textural difference,” Leigh said.
Going forward, Leigh plans to bring other edible insects like grasshoppers and worms to her family’s dinner table because they are excellent protein sources.
Rising Food Prices
Protein prices have gone up in Leigh's area.
According to Statistics Canada, the price of meat products in the country increased 6.6% in March from a year ago. Notably, the price of fresh or frozen chicken surged 10.8% year over year.
At the same time, fish, seafood and other marine products in Canada showed a 6.4% price increase. Meanwhile, egg prices jumped up 11.8% during the same period.
Overall, Canadians paid 9.7% more for food purchased from stores in March compared to 12 months ago.
The trend is happening in America as well. The Department of Labor reported that in March, U.S. consumer prices increased 5% from a year ago. While headline inflation is down from 6% in February and a 40-year high of 9.1% last June, food costs remain a burden to many.
In particular, the food index in March was 8.5% higher compared to a year ago. The index for food at home was up 8.4% in the past 12 months, driven by a 13.6% increase in the index for cereals and bakery products and a 10.7% increase in dairy and related products.
The reality is that even though central banks around the world have been raising interest rates to tame inflation, consumers are stuck with paying higher grocery bills.
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Trim Your Grocery Bills
Consuming crickets for protein is a smart and adventurous way to cut grocery costs. But if you are not quite ready to embrace this new culinary delight, here are a few other things that can help you lower your grocery bills.
Buy in bulk: When you purchase large quantities of nonperishable items such as grains, pasta and canned goods, you often benefit from a lower cost per unit. If you want to take advantage of volume discounts regularly, you can also consider joining wholesale clubs like Costco. Just remember to store bulk items properly to maintain their quality and be careful not to overbuy perishable goods to avoid food waste.
Opt for store brands: Store-brand products frequently offer more competitive prices than their name-brand counterparts and can be just as good in terms of quality and taste. Retailers and supermarkets collaborate with manufacturers to produce these budget-friendly options. By doing so, they cut out expensive marketing and advertising costs often associated with name-brand products.
Limit prepared foods: Prepared foods can be a time saver, but they can also be more expensive than cooking from scratch. Whether it’s pre-chopped vegetables or pre-made meals, they tend to have a higher cost per serving because you are paying for the convenience and packaging. By choosing whole ingredients and cooking your meals at home, you can save money and gain more control over what goes into your food.
Inflation chips away at the value of your hard-earned money. While using strategies to counter rising food costs, you might also want to safeguard your purchasing power through inflation-resistant investments. Nowadays, a variety of such investment options are easily accessible to everyday investors.
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