The Nash Finch stores Avanza, Food Bonanza and Wholesale Food Outlets add the 10 percent charge to food at the register and specialize in serving Hispanics, according to store workers.

However, the Nash Finch stores Sun Mart Foods, Econo Foods, Family Fresh Market, Pick N Save and Prairie Market stores do not charge extra at the register and do not cater to Hispanics, according to the store workers.

"Jim," a store manager, told the news station that the fee is to offset other costs, but it's clear that the 10% charge is at least partly a way to offer steeper "discounts" throughout the store that are effectively removed when you pay.

Nash Finch denies it's doing anything skeevy or illegal with its unclear pricing, but 9News points out their attempt at full disclosure is confusingly worded, perhaps deliberately so:

"The 'shelf-plus' pricing program is only used in certain store formats. These stores tend to be located where consumers are more price-conscious, as compared to our more conventional supermarkets," said Brian Numainville, Public Relations for Nash Finch Company. "The pricing policy is explained, not just in English, but also in Spanish, so that no customer is caught unaware at the cash register."

The stores do advertise that they are going to add a 10 percent fee in signs posted across the store, on the store shelves below the price of a food item on the store shelf and in flyers and circulars. However, the wording is confusing to many. For example, the flyers read, "A great way to save - Plus 10 % at the Register."

What do you think—is this an acceptable way to price groceries? In a series of questions Nash Finch answered for 9News' story, they claim that they're not the only chain to do this, and that it's not just Hispanic markets. Here's their final justifaction for the practice:

Question 9: Wouldn’t it be more honest/up front to just add 10 percent to the price of all of the products—so that people can see the actual price on the shelf and on the sticker?

Answer: The grocery industry is extremely competitive. Stores vie for customers. Customer loyalty is highly valued. Given the need to attract and retain customers, our stores cannot afford to alienate its customers by charging unexplained fees or unanticipated mark-ups. Our pricing is attracting customers—rather than losing them—demonstrating that the pricing policy is in fact fair, obvious, and well-understood by our shoppers.

"Some grocery stores add 10 percent fee" [9News.com] (Thanks to Randy!)

From the WSJ:

But lower-priced "value" products can also have wide margins because they're cheaper to make. "Food companies will be careful to shift consumers to products that are still high margin," says Robert Moskow, an analyst with Credit Suisse. "Powdered Kool-Aid beverages are one of the most profitable food products in history."

Also Monday, the milk industry will begin running ads touting milk as a bargain. Financial guru Suze Orman will don the familiar milk mustache in a print ad that reads: "Even at today's prices, a glass of milk only costs about a quarter...." The ad is a big departure from prior "Got Milk" campaigns that focused on the nutritional value of milk.

The milk industry plans to spend just under $1 million on the Suze Orman ads.

The WSJ says the new campaigns indicative of a food industry that's afraid of consumers. Shoppers have been pinched by a 7.5% jump in food prices in the first 8 months of 2008, and have started buying generics. Oh, no!

If you're a member of the PTA, you can expect ConAgra to start giving you the hard sell on their cheap Banquet frozen dinners — they've hired "hundreds of mothers to provide money-saving tips and free product samples at PTA meetings and church groups across the country. The moms will be paid in Banquet product coupons, the company said."

Campbell will begin calling their soups, "the original dollar menu," stressing that you just have to add water, and Kool-Aid's new claims the product provides "more smiles per gallon" compared to soft drinks.

Food Marketers Cook Up 'Value' Campaigns [WSJ]
(Photo: What Rhymes With Nicole )

“This allows them the possibility to move inside the store without having to carry all the items in their hands with the handheld baskets,” spokeswoman Judy Chong said. “When you’re picking up a half gallon of milk and two-liter bottles of soda, it gets heavy.”

According to their North American distributor, another big benefit of being able to pull the Shop n’ Roll baskets is that they prompt some shoppers to load them with more groceries, instead of perhaps heading to the checkout when carrying them becomes fatiguing.

“They promote more items being purchased,” said George Braeunig, who handles North American sales for distributor SCS Inc. in Boca Raton, Fla.

We like it. It's like a basket and a shopping cart had a little baby. You should just be aware that there's an intentional "buy more stuff" side effect if you're not careful.

"Shaw’s rolls out baskets with wheels" [Boston Herald] (Thanks to Henry!)
(Photo: Larsz)

Local 6 says:

"When we see that a nearby competitor might temporarily lower a price on an item, our stores have the authority to adjust their price lower. This can happen in a very small vicinity of stores," the company said in a statement to Local 6.

However, the Problem Solvers found that the prices concerned were not temporary as Wal-Mart described, but consistent over a period of at least two months.

Barnaby [a consumer who reported the price differences] said she thinks that Wal-Mart is charging more for the same products in poorer neighborhoods than in neighborhoods with higher incomes.

"It disgusts me that the people who can least afford to buy the food have to pay more money than everyone else does," Barnaby said.

That’s a serious accusation and the Problem Solvers probed further, Cooper reported.

First, Cooper looked at the most recent census data, which showed the median household income is highest in Apopka — where the prices were the lowest, compared to incomes in Mt. Dora and Clarcona/Pine Hills where the prices were higher.

Cooper brought that data to Wal-Mart's attention and a spokeswoman for the company said she was offended by the suggestion that the company was charging more in poorer neighborhoods.

She insisted that Wal-Mart does not price by demographic, that it remains the low price leader in every market — and that the three stores we visited represent entirely different markets with different sets of competition, Cooper reported.
But when the Problem Solvers checked the competition, they did not find a similar pattern of pricing, Cooper said.

They visited Publix stores in the Windermere/Ocoee area, the Rosemont neighborhood of Orlando, and Altamonte.
The prices of the sugar, condensed milk and asparagus were consistent at all three stores. Visits to different Winn-Dixie stores generated the same results, according to Cooper.

Here are the prices they checked:

Sugar
$2.38 Mt. Dora
$2.36 Clarcona/Pine Hills
$1.76 Apopka

Condensed Milk
$1.54 Mt. Dora
$1.56 Clarcona/Pine Hills
$1.04 Apopka

Asparagus
$2.42 Mt. Dora
$2.54 Clarcona/Pine Hills
$1.86 Apopka

Congratulations, Central Florida. You've realized that Walmart's pricing is shady and inconsistent.

Wal-Mart Price Discrepancies Investigated [Local 6] (Thanks, pattie-anne!)
(Photo: RowJimmy )

“The average person goes shopping for 22 minutes,” said Phil Lempert, who edits Supermarketguru.com, a Web site that tracks retail trends. “You can’t see 30,000 or 40,000 products. We are moving into an era when people want less assortment.”

"Miles of Aisles for Milk? Not Here " [New York Times]
(Photo: Getty)

The recall was announced after an unspecified customer complaint, which we imagine went something like, "Hey, there was a chunk of metal in my bagel this morning, wtf." Luckily, no injuries have been reported.

"Voluntary Recall: Wegmans In-Store Made Bagels" [Wegmans] (Thanks to Jeff!)
(Photo: Getty)

The recall is for 54-ounce, 12-pack cartons of Hot Pockets Pepperoni Pizza with the following printed on the sides of each carton: “8157544614D,” “EST 7721A” and “BEST BEFORE JAN2010.”

If you have some of the recalled product, spit out that plastic and call Nestlé Consumer Services Center at 1-800-350-5016.

"215,660 pounds of Hot Pockets recalled" [Lexington Herald-Leader] (Thanks to Dariush!)

I cooked up the Banquet Chicken Pot Pie per directions.

I flipped it over after cooking and put it in a bowl. I opened up the "bottom" to get at the pot pie goodness and what did I find? Practically nothing. It was almost completely hollow.

On the back of the box were the instructions for cooking.

The final step says to insert a thermometer to ensure a temp of 160 to make sure it is fully cooked. If I had actually done that the probe would have been in the hollow pocket of the pie and not been measuring anything but air.

I will stick with Marie Calendar pot pie from now on. They are actually filled with pot pie goodness.

(Thanks to couponknob!)

From Needcoffee:

I work for Arm & Hammer and wanted to quickly clarify the new 30-day messaging on the Arm & Hammer Fridge-N-Freezer box. I'm sure you know that Arm & Hammer Baking Soda has 100s of uses- from polishing silver to deodorizing your stinky gym shoes, but it is most commonly used to deodorize the fridge.

So first up I'm already on the defensive, because I'm trying to figure out how the hell they know about my gym shoes. But that's another issue.

We are telling consumers to change the box every 30 days because we've found that baking soda helps prevent taste-transfer in your refrigerator, meaning it helps keep the foods in your fridge tasting fresher longer when it is replaced each month.

When you have garlic cloves in your fridge and, say, mozzarella cheese, the garlic can overtake the mozzarella, making it taste like the garlic. But, when you place the Fridge-N-Freezer box in your refrigerator, it keeps those flavors separate from each other- preventing the taste transfer and keeping your refrigerated foods tasting the way they should.

Fair enough—further research has shown that garlicky cheese can be prevented if you buy three times the amount of our product that you did previously.

That sounds vaguely reasonable until you actually start thinking about it. Thankfully, we don't have to because Widge has done it for us.

So what Arm & Hammer is saying here is that after approximately a hundred years of having the product on the shelf, they've learned in the past few months that it helps with taste transfer but only if you buy it once a month. This is new news to them and a new application of the product and hey, a benefit to the consumer. I can buy that, no problem.

Although...it would kind of make the entire thing pointless if I were to find a press release from 1999 that said that "taste-transfer" was an issue, even back in those halcyon days of yore. And wait, here's a website quoting what the Arm & Hammer site used to say, that "We recommend that you replace the ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda in your fridge and freezer every 3 months to keep them smelling fresh and to prevent any taste transfer between stored foods. We can even send you a reminder via E-Mail—just check out our Reminder page."

So basically we're right back where we started. One of three things has occurred.

A) Arm & Hammer's product has gotten weaker so you need to buy three times the amount that you previously needed to avoid taste transfer

2) Food odors have somehow gotten stronger, probably due to global warming

III) Arm & Hammer (not the publicist, who was very nice and I'd like to make it clear I'm not picking on them since they were giving me Arm & Hammer's story and that's their job—but this is my job) just wants to sell three times the amount of baking soda they did in the past and figured out a way to try and do so.

You make the call.

Arm & Hammer Responds [Need Coffee]
The Baking Soda Crop Was Especially Weak This Season [Need Coffee]

The check-er-outer lady looked at it a while and said (without the slightest trace of irony),

“I don’t think cheese is a dairy product.”

Oh. Um. Well. Yes. Um. WHAT?

“No, they don’t consider cheese a dairy product.”

With that newly created fact, the cashier refused to apply a store coupon for dairy products to a package of cheddar slices. When the columnist for The Stranger asked her who "they" are, she replied, "Fred Meyer Corporation."

The columnist and his coupon-wielding friend saved the coupon for another day and purchased the cheese at full price, but we have a feeling a lot of our readers would not have let Fred Meyer off so easily.

"Cheese: The Totally Other Food Group. Apparently. Maybe From Space!" [The Stranger] (Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)
(Photo of tomato plant: Aine D)

Perhaps surprisingly, some of the items at Whole Foods are competitively priced. The Times compared the prices of items at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and ShopRite (a typical grocery store in the Northeast). They found that the basic items at Whole Foods—like organic milk, organic carrots, cage free eggs, and natural peanut butter—were lower or comparatively priced. As for the budget tours, Whole Foods advises customers to buy items on sale, and stock up on $1.50 tofu.

Whole Foods Looks for a Fresh Image in Lean Times [NYT]
(Photo: Adam Lawrence)

• Make A List: Bet you never guessed this would be the first item. Always, always, always make a list. Any gain from coupons is easily offset by wasteful list-free shopping.
• Know Your Prices: You can't tell if you're getting a good deal if you don't keep track of prices. Diehards rely on spreadsheets and pounce with coupons when prices plummet.
• Stockpile!: If it isn't perishable, buy without shame. Reach high and aim for your pantry ceiling.
• Get Organized: Highlight coupon expiration dates to avoid checkout counter letdown.
• Be Selective: Coupons don't automatically mean savings. Compare discounted prices against other brands and generics to make sure you're getting the best price.
• Use Multiple Coupon Sources: The Sunday paper is still the most popular coupon source, but that shouldn't keep you from checking sites like CouponMom.com, TheGroceryGame.com, and MyCoupons.com.
• Combine Coupons: Mix manufacturer's coupons with store coupons for extra savings.
• Leverage Loyalty Programs: We don't like grocers tracking everything we buy, but we do love the savings they offer loyal customers. We always happen to conveniently forget our card at home, and cashiers are always more than willing to swipe through their spare discount card.
• Pay Attention: Look for "redeem now" coupons stuck on products for extra savings.
• Be Shameless: Dented can? Ask the manager for a discount.
• Ask For Coupons: Take a minute to whip-up a gushing letter of praise for your favorite brand. They'll send you coupons as thanks.

Confessions of a dedicated coupon clipper [The Los Angeles Times]
(Photo: Getty)

Customers have asked why at least on Wegmans brand, we couldn’t keep size the same and just increase price (or better yet, keep size and price the same!). Wegmans brand suppliers often make products for other retailers (different recipes but same package size). It’s more costly for them to produce varying product sizes for different customers. So they often limit production to only one size; when costs rise sharply, it’s a new “smaller” container.

Well, that was refreshingly honest.

Up or Down? [Wegmans](Thanks, Aaron!)
(Photo: Tom Simpson )

Update: here's a better photo of the sign, as requested by EtoilePB:

Rather, much of organic milk is "ultra-pasteurized." This means the pasteurization process occurs at a higher temperature than just regular pasteurization. More bacteria get killed, and so it stays fresh for longer. Not all organic milk is ultra-pasteurized, and some regular milk is, so be sure to look for milk that says "ultra-pasteurized." An exciting entry on the different kinds of pasteurization can be found here.

However, pasteurization removes both good and bad bacteria, as well as proteins and flavor. So, unless you're gonna install a cow in your kitchen, or join the raw-milk underground, there's going to be a tradeoff. Personally, I only use milk as a conduit for cereal so it doesn't really matter what it tastes like, it just needs to not go bad within two days of purchase.

(With thanks to commenter VA_White!)

(Photo: amyadoyzie)

1. Make A List! Shopping lists top every saving strategy we offer, and for good reason. Lists make for routinized, disciplined shopping.
2. Don't Fear An Empty Fridge: Food grows mold, not interest. An empty fridge is a strong sign that your buying matches your consumption.
3. Approach Deals Skeptically: Just because an item screams "Two for One!" doesn't mean that you need two. Make sure the item is something that you'll use, and something that won't expire quickly.
4. Avoid Supermarkets For Perishables: Buy your vegetables, meats, and fish at local establishments. You'll spend less per visit, while honing your comparison shopping skills. In our neighborhood, the Korean vegetable stand is usually 30% cheaper than the supermarket around the corner.
5. Buy Non-Perishables In Bulk: If you can store them, buy your pasta and rice in bulk. Just don't try to buy more than one bag at a time.
6. Buy Quality Products: Somewhat counterintuitive for those who focus exclusively on the bottom line, but if you pay more for a high-quality ingredient, you're less likely to let it go to waste.
7. Grow Your Own Herbs And Salad: Herbs and salad expire quickly in the fridge. If you have the space, grow your own and save.
8. Buy Whole Vegetables: Bagged lettuce? Washed carrots? Like any vegetable, they start to decompose as soon as they're processed.
9. Be Storage Savvy: Keep your food fresh with proper storage. If you're a fresh fruit lover, invest in an ethylene gas guardian to stave off spoilage.
10. Plan Your Meals: Planning is a key part of list building, and one of the best ways to prevent abandoned foodstuffs from clogging up your fridge.
11. Cook! Don't just follow recipes. Real cooks now how to whip that extra bit of coconut milk or leftover celery into a tasty meal.
12. Cook In Bulk: Since you're already at the stove, double the recipe and save the leftovers.
13. Use Your Freezer: Freezers are more efficient when they're full, so fill 'em up.
14. Learn To Love Leftovers: Mmm, leftovers! But seriously, don't throw away perfectly good food.
15. Watch Your Portions: The less you eat, the less you spend. If you have trouble eyeballing portions, consider buying a scale.
16. Learn From Your Parents: Your pappy's pappy would smack you silly for your wasteful ways. Says Sheila Tremaine, 81, "We never threw anything away, because if you didn't use everything up you had nothing to eat. People just seem to have lost that skill."
17. Rediscover Packed Lunches: Dust off that old He-Man lunch box and take your meals to work. Why waste $5.95 on a lunch special when you can eat from your own fridge?
18. Equip Yourself: "Make your own bread. It's quick, easy and so much better tasting than shop-bought. It's also much cheaper. Make your own ice cream, it's a doddle. Invest in a mincing machine as an attachment to a food processor, and turn the leftover roast lamb into a base for shepherd's pie. While you're at it, invest in a sausage stuffer and ask your butcher for some sausage skins when you buy the pork."
19. Don't Trust Use-By Dates: If it isn't soft cheese, pate, seafood or processed meat, then it will last for a while. "Chicken, raw meats and fish will all look and smell unpleasant long before they're actively unsafe (as long as you cook it thoroughly, chicken, for example, is good for at least a week past its sell-by date). Apples last for months; potatoes are fine as long as you chop the green shoots off before cooking; tins and jars will last decades if not centuries; hard cheese is indestructible; and dry foods will last for years too."
20. Become A Freegan: If all else fails, ditch your wasteful ways and become one with your urban landscape.

Some of the farms highlighted in the article show the diversity of goods you can invest in, including flowers, fruits and veggies, and even grass-fed beef:

The Golden Earthworm Organic Farm, on 80 acres on the North Fork of Long Island, grew from 10 members in 2000 to about 1,300 this year, according to Matthew Kurek, one of the owners. About half of the members live in Queens, he said, and the farm delivers their weekly shares to six different sites there, mainly churches and community centers, 26 weeks a year. The farm grows arugula, strawberries and sugar snap peas in the spring; watermelon, eggplant and tomatoes in the summer; and broccoli, potatoes and carrots in the fall.

At the Cattleana Ranch in Omro, Wis., Thomas and Susan Wrchota offer grass-fed meat and organic produce through a community-supported arrangement. They have 55 members, and a seven-month meat membership costs $715.

Don't expect to save money on these memberships, warns the article—the people who do it are looking for verifiable organic food, or want to help participate in sustainable agriculture, or just want to get their hands dirty.

Some shareholders said they found the arrangement a bargain compared to grocery shopping, while others considered it a worthwhile indulgence. Most agreed that the urge to buy and spend locally — to avoid the costs and environmental degradation that come with shipping and storage — was behind the decision to join. Shareholders can pick up their goods at the farm or at a store across the street.

"Shoppers Buy Slices of Farms " [New York Times]

RELATED
LocalHarvest
"Community Supported Agriculture" [USDA]
(Photo: Unhindered by Talent)

1. Make a list and stick to it. Lists focus your shopping and are the single best way to save money.
2. Compare unit pricing, not box size. As with good things, good prices sometimes come in small packages.
3. If you only need a handful of items, use a basket, not a cart. Empty space cries to be filled.
4. If it's not on your list, don't pick it up. According to Paco Underhill in Why We Buy: “Virtually all unplanned purchases…come as a result of the shopper seeing, touching, smelling, or tasting something that promises pleasure, if not total fulfillment.”
5. Shop at the edge of the store. That's where the healthier, cheaper items hide.
6. Disavow brand loyalty and swear allegiance to the lowest price.
7. Consider generics. You usually get the same quality, without the unnecessary branding.
8. Learn to love coupons. With practice, you can buy almost $150 worth of stuff for $5.
9. Make one big shop, rather than several small ones. You'll save on gas while inoculating against wasteful spending.
10. Buy from bulk bins. Why pay for packaging and marketing when you can reach right in and scoop out exactly what you need?
11. Check your receipt. Don't let an errant scan ruin your hard work.
12. Shop alone. Science shows that we spend more when we're with company.
13. Track your spending so you can see what's eating your money. Committed receipt hawks can spot price cycles to help guide their shopping.
14. Eat a meal before shopping. Shopping on a full stomach tamps down impulse spending and keeps you focused on your list.
15. Shop without a car. Nothing limits spending like knowing you'll have to carry your goods home.

Saving at the Supermarket: 15 Great Grocery Shopping Tips [Get Rich Slowly]

(Photo: Getty)

The price of Spam is up too, with the average 12 oz. can costing about $2.62. That's an increase of 17 cents, or nearly 7 percent, from the same time last year. But it's not stopping sales, as the pork meat in a can seems like a good alternative to consumers.

Kimberly Quan, a stay-at-home mom of three who lives just outside San Francisco, has been feeding her family more Spam in the last six months as she tries to make her food budget go further.

She cooks meals like Spam fried rice and Spam sandwiches two or three times a month, up from once a month previously.

Pulling Spam from the shelf prevents last-minute grocery store trips and overspending, said Quan, 38, of Pleasanton, Calif.

"It's canned meat and it's in the cupboard and if everything else is gone from the fridge, it's there," she said.

Spam's maker, Hormel Foods Corp., reported last week that it saw strong sales of Spam in the second quarter, helping push up its profits 14 percent. According to sales information coming from Hormel, provided by The Nielsen Co., Spam sales were up 10.6 percent in the 12-week period ending May 3, compared to last year. In the last 24 weeks, sales were up nearly 9 percent.

The Austin, Minn.-based company, also known for the Jennie-O Turkey Store, has embarked on its first national advertising campaign for the 71-year-old brand in several years. They've credited the sales increase to that, along with new products like individually packaged "Spam Singles" slices. Also helping sales, executives said in an earnings conference call, was the fact that people looking to save money are skipping restaurant meals and eating more at home.

Spam Singles? According to the article Spam costs about $3.49 per lbs. Is this a good deal? Our local grocery store in Brooklyn has boneless chicken breasts on sale for $2.49 per lbs.

Another woman in the article says she's feeding her kids ramen more often:

April Smith has been changing the way she feeds her family in Broken Arrow, Okla., to keep up with rising costs. This summer the 33-year-old administrative assistant will feed her two boys, ages 11 and 8, more ramen for lunch. Normally they eat the noodle soup on Saturdays, but since ramen costs about a dime per pack, they'll get it twice a week. Smith says she'll throw in some leftover frozen vegetables to make it more nutritious.

"Since it's cheap and easy, I figure why not let them eat it twice a week instead of once a week," Smith said.

What are you doing to save money at the grocery store? Is canned meat involved?

Sales of Spam rise as consumers trim food costs [AP]
(Photo: jodsey )

My first experience was about a month ago when my order contained some freezer items which had to be collected when I arrived. The associate rang me up and then told me to wait at the exit for my freezer items. I waited there for 20 minutes. I then approached the Customer Service desk and after some searching around one of CS agents found my freezer items just sitting alone by the registers. Needless to say a 20 minute wait defeats the purpose of Click N' Pull. Not to mention the rudeness of just leaving frozen product around for someone to 'find'.

Then today (May 29th) I noticed that my most recent Click N Pull order was wrong. I hadn't received the 'order is ready email' so I thought I would call and make sure it was fixed. I was on hold for 15 minutes before I eventually hung up.

I then tried the SamsClub Online number and spoke with an extremely helpful man (Darnell I think) who wrote down the SKUs of the items I needed removed and the items I needed added. He even offered to call my local store and get the changes made. After ten minutes on hold the system hung up on me.

Then five minutes later I get an email saying my order is ready for pickup. Of course I now have no idea if it's right and will have to deal with it at the store.

It sort of ruins the goal of greater efficiency if you have to double- and triple-check the order and call customer service to remove items—or if your $36 "tiny-quart" of ice cream is melted by the time an employee tracks it down.

(Photo: Getty)

Food's getting too expensive, leaving us with two choices: lose our lead on per capita obesity, or find new ways to save money. We're not the type of nation to give up a first place position on anything, so that leaves us with saving money, and one way to do this is to make your own stuff. We know, it's crazy! Apparently early settlers somehow created their own Cheetos and Frappuccinos, but we're not going to get that primitive. Instead, here's a quick rundown of some interesting Do It Yourself tutorials we found that might give you some ideas on how to cut costs the next time you go grocery shopping.

Make Your Own Baby Food
The process is pretty easy—puree the food and strain it. This post suggests you spoon individual servings into an ice tray, then cover it with plastic wrap and freeze it. "Then, put the frozen blocks of food into a freezer bag." The author doesn't go on to mention thawing out the food, which leaves us with images of her babies sucking toothlessly on foodsicles, but we assume you're supposed to reheat the food when you're ready to use it.

Of course, if you need advice on how to make your own baby, you can head over to our sister site Fleshbot.

Make Your Own Instant Oatmeal
Trent at The Simple Dollar makes his own instant oatmeal packets. Instant oatmeal is a simple recipe, which means even the kitchen-phobic can accomplish this without ruining anything. Trent writes that the initial batch actually comes out to slightly more per serving than prepackaged, if you factor in the purchase of one-time supplies like reusable baggies and salt. Batch #2 is the same price as pre-packaged, and batch #3 is where the real savings kick in.

While this is a great idea, we think you can go one better and forego the plastic bags entirely, which drops the cost per serving immediately. Baggies are good if you have to eat your breakfast in the break room at work, but otherwise the "recipe" is so simple that you can assemble it on the spot each morning in less than 30 seconds. If you follow Trent's advice to grind up some of the oatmeal to make the final product thicker, simply grind up a predetermined amount and keep it in a plastic container.

Make Your Own Ice Cream and Sorbet
Real ice cream requires cooking a custard first, and you'll have to purchase eggs, heavy cream, and milk, which are exactly the sort of ingredients that are going up in price. Since the point is to save money, you're better off buying in-season fruit and trying your hand at sorbets.

This is maybe the funniest/laziest sorbet recipe we can find: freeze a can of fruit, then puree it in a blender with a little liquor. (We're going to try this over the weekend.)

If you're too lazy to puree and blend, go even simpler and just make ice pops.

Make Your Own Hot Dogs
Just kidding.

The Big Question: Is This Really Worth My Time?
If you're asking yourself that, there's a good chance you already know the answer: you probably feel your time is better suited doing something more productive and/or entertaining.

However, Trent the Oatmeal Guy writes that he made his instant oatmeal packets while talking on the phone with his mother. We've discovered family phone calls are the perfect time to multitask with housework and kitchen activities, especially if you have a hands-free headset.

(Photo: Getty Images)

The internal emails are particularly weird. Back in January, two messages were sent from a single Hotmail account through Burger King's servers, one to a journalist and one to a pro-farm workers group. The emails criticized Burger King and offered to provide assistance and information about the restaurant company's plans. Were the Hotmail messages legit? Is there a traitor within Burger King HQ? Or was somebody trying to set up the farm workers group for future accusations of dirty tricks?

As expected, BK gives the standard corporate spin about the investigation without actually saying anything of substance:

"Senior management of the company had no knowledge of Grover's postings. These comments were not sanctioned by the company and they do not reflect the opinion of the company," Burger King spokeswoman Denise Wilson said in a statement. "We are conducting an internal investigation, and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken."

We'd like to think that means Grover will have to wear the Duke costume at the next corporate retreat, but more likely it just means he'll get a few sympathetic back slaps by his C-level buddies. Oh well—we'll always know you're a jackass, Grover.
 
"Burger King investigates e-mails slamming farmworker group" [Florida Times-Union]
(Photo: malias)

Here's the quick back story: tomato pickers in the U.S. are paid ridiculously low wages and treated badly, and some people are talking to fast food companies about increasing their pay by a penny per pound in order to help solve the problem. There was an agreement on the penny pay increase—McDonald's and Taco Bell were okay with it—but that fell through after Burger King joined up with some Florida tomato growers to claim that the low-wage claims were false and the workers were treated just fine.

It's gotten so bad that earlier this month, farm workers and their advocates testified before the Senate that claims of $12.50/hour wages were false, and that the industry has a history of worker abuse:

"It may not sound like much, but for the tomato pickers, it means the difference between poverty and decent wages," Kennedy said. He invoked Edward R. Murrow's landmark 1960 documentary "Harvest of Shame," which detailed the grim plight of migrant workers in Immokalee and elsewhere.
 
"Too little has changed over the years," he said. The fact that there's a need for hearings today shows "how far we have to go to provide genuine fairness and justice for this vulnerable workforce," he said.
 
"Do the math with me," Durbin said in his opening statement. Workers would have to fill and empty a 32-pound bucket of tomatoes, each worth some 45 cents, about every two minutes all day long to earn the $12.50, he said.
 
"Is that possible?" he asked. "I don't think it is."
 
Sanders also decried conditions in Immokalee, pointing out that when he visited in January, a 17-count indictment was handed down for enslavement of tomato workers.
 
"In America, in the year 2008, it is not acceptable that workers producing the food we eat should live in these conditions," he said.
 
Workers face seven-day work weeks, physical and psychological abuse, and debt bondage to their employers, said Lucas Benitez, co-founder of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.

At one point, Burger King Vice President Stephen Grover told reporters he was concerned the coalition was pocketing the extra money. After several independent groups that verified the agreements dismissed the allegations, Burger King officials stopped repeating them.
 
But the allegations were repeated on blog posts, according to a story published Monday in The News-Press in Fort Myers. The paper traced those posts to the online user name of Grover's daughter. The girl, who is in middle school, later confirmed to the paper her father had used her online screen name.
 
In a post still available Monday on YouTube, an individual with the girl's screen name wrote: "The CIW is an attack organization lining the leaders pockets by attacking restaurant companies. They make up issues and collect money from dupes that believe their story...."
 
Messages left for Grover at work and at home by The Associated Press on Monday were not immediately returned.

His wife, Susan Grover, confirmed the screen name was their daughter's but said she didn't know if her husband had used it. She accused the News-Press reporter of not identifying herself as a journalist to their daughter.
 
Reporter Amy Bennett Williams said she did identify herself and told the girl she was taking notes. She also said she left all of her contact information, which the girl's mother later used to call and complain.

"Inevitably there would be an increase in the cost of the products that is passed on to the consumer," Cal Dooley, the group's president and a former Democratic lawmaker, told a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee. "You are further compounding the rapid increase in food prices, the likes of which we haven't seen in recent years."

With the legislative changes, "you would get safe food from places like China, where they sell all manner of crap," Dingell told Dooley.
 
Under the proposal, food producers would have to pay annual registration fees of $2,000 per facility, generating $600 million for FDA food-safety activities, more than doubling the current budget. The FDA would be required to conduct inspections every two years of both domestic and foreign makers of drugs and medical devices.

From their press release:

"Grocery bills represent a significant expenditure for the average American family. In fact, the average family of four spends between $105 and $235 per week* on food purchased at a store and prepared at home," said David B. Dillon, Kroger chairman and chief executive officer. "Kroger's program allows our customers to stretch their grocery dollars further. We are excited about the opportunity to touch the lives of millions of families across the country by helping them extend their household budgets through this special program."

"I don't buy a lot of expensive meat anymore. I buy more vegetables, because they are cheaper." — Fran Allen, 77-year-old part-time factory employee from Romeoville, Illinois. "I buy what is on the list and nothing that isn't on the list." — Patricia Norris, homemaker in Romeoville. "That doesn't cover it.... I went over again ... It's almost impossible to stay on budget." - Barbara Armour, whose family food budget is $350-$400 month, after shopping at a Santa Clarita, Cal. store. "Something has to be done, because these prices are just getting ridiculous." — Karen Stewart, hospital housekeeper from Plainfield, Ill. "I'm making changes just because of how much I'm paying on gas.... I went to a gas station with $100 and came out with nothing." — Jamie Dorgan, homemaker from Joliet, Ill.

Check Out Line: Wal-Mart customers stretch for groceries [Reuters]
(Photo:ShutterCat7)

5) Lists are overrated and so are budgets. Oh yeah, and make sure you go shopping when you're hungry! Bring your kids and let them choose what you will eat for the next week. It's not like you don't like Doritos, right?

4) Always buy the value pack. If you see a box that's bigger, that means it's always cheaper to buy that one. Make sure not to check the unit pricing because everyone knows that's totally boring and a huge waste of time.

3) Shop on the inside aisles. Don't buy a bunch of fruits and veggies and fresh meat. That stuff will just rot really quickly. Instead, buy all your meals pre-made. Come to think of it, why are you even going to the grocery store anyway? If its not available at a gas station, you don't really need it.

2) DO NOT USE VINEGAR FOR ANYTHING! Buy expensive cleaners. Vinegar is so overrated. It makes you smell like pickles and your husband will leave you.

1) Always, always, always buy things from the middle shelf. Those companies paid good money to be placed there and that means they make better products.

(Photo:Getty)

The solution to all this is a price book. It costs whatever a cheap notebook costs you, and saves a surprising amount of money and starts saving you money immediately.

Faye Prosser at FamilyCorner writes, "A price book is simply a list of the items you use regularly and the best prices they sell for in the stores where you are willing to shop." That's it. While it's got a sort of "duh" obviousness about it, the power of such a list grows the more data you put into it, especially when you're finally able to easily compare unit prices for groceries from different stores and at different times of the year:

After a while you'll have an excellent price record of the things you like to buy. If you add dates to the entries you will begin to see the sale pattern for that item. You don't need to include everything you ever use in the course of a year, just those items you buy regularly. You can price items for as many stores as you want or just the main store at which you shop.

More advice on how to set one up:
http://www.stretcher.com/stories/05/05mar14c.cfm

Downloadable spreadsheet:
http://www.uncommonwaytowealth.com/excel-finance-spreadsheets/grocery-savings-spreadsheet-price-book/

"Use a Grocery Price Book to Slash Your Food Spending" [Get Rich Slowly]
"Developing a Price Book" [Family Corner]
(Photo: Simon Shek)

I thought that the long lines and the produce always being out of stock was bad enough, but then I noticed the small family of birds living at my local Safeway (Nutley St, Fairfax, VA). I wrote a letter to Safeway's corporate offices about a week ago to complain about the poor state of the store, but I guess that management really doesn't care enough to act quickly. My question is, if there's no birdbath inside Safeway, then where do the birds bathe?

We can't imagine a more perfect bird sanctuary than a supermarket: plenty to eat in produce, "rainfall" every day, and no predators. At least not at this Safeway.

(Photos: josecmelia)

Trent's friend works for Hy-Vee grocery stores and gave him the tip, and he explains why it works:

Coupons in the newspaper are usually the first wave of a product push from large companies. They'll put out coupons to start bumping up the sales, then they'll move onto sale prices later on in the promotion. The reason for doing these in waves is so that the overall product sales trend looks solidly positive and not just a big spike with a fall-off. Plus, coupon users who use the product, like it, return to the store, and notice the item on sale are often willing to buy the item again.

"Microsoft Helps Put Ads on Computerized Shopping Carts" [PC World]
"Microsoft Helps Build Ad-Carrying, Smart Shopping Carts" [InformationWeek]

No storewide announcement was made and the store ended up giving away groceries worth $4,000.

[Manager Kimberly Hall] said Donoghue did not consult headquarters before making his decision and said she has heard no negative feedback from the top brass.

"They just totally trust us to do what is right for our customers," she said.

It didn't appear to be a big deal to Hall. In fact, neither the store nor the chain sought publicity for what happened.

Whole Foods Shows You Can Get Something For Nothing [Hartford Courant]
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

• 73% of shoppers "feel either antagonistic towards or have no loyalty to their local supermarket"

Clearly the customer loyalty card efforts across the grocery industry have fallen short of their goals as grocers sacrifice customer experience to focus on lower prices.

• quality
• selection
• employees
• product availability
• social responsibility

We would just appreciate it if the cashiers didn't always treat us with theatrical displays of contempt when we check out. We're also surprised there's no mention of crowding or store layout—in NYC at least, the markets are almost always 1/5th the size of "normal" stores, and god help you if you go on a Saturday afternoon.

"IBM Survey Finds Grocery Industry Falls Short in Building Loyalty With Customers" [IBM via USA Today]
(Photo: Getty)

I bought a bottle of McCormick curry powder a few days ago at the Superfresh (NOT) at the Hillcrest Shopping Center, Lansdale PA. I checked the site and it indicated it had no record of that number. OMG! Counterfeit spice! From China! With lead and anti-freeze in it!

So I called McCormick and gave a nice woman named Jenny the number. She said it was from 2002!!!!!!!!! No lead or anti-freeze.

Spices aren't dangerous when they're too old, just less potent. One website says that "greatly increased quantities will be needed to get the same strength of flavour" and that "some of the more delicate elements of the flavour may be lost entirely."

Patty didn't have a lot of luck convincing the Superfresh manager that he was selling old merchandise, but we greatly admire the way she got so obsessive about something the manager would obviously prefer to just ignore:

SOOOO, I go to the "Superfresh" and explain to the guy at the 'service' counter about the dating system and how I called McCormick and how they said the curry I bought two days ago was manufactured in 2002.

He replied "we've only been here year so I don't see how that could happen"

Leaving aside the IQ question I asked if he'd like to go with me to check to see if any more were out of date. He said no.

So I checked and the majority that I looked at were out of date, like one was made after 2004.

I went back and relayed this to him and he repeated they had only been there a year. I told him I would pass this information and what it implied about the freshness of their merchandise on and that I had written to The Consumerist about it. He gave me a refund card.

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