Grocery prices are on the rise ? here are 6 ways to keep your food budget under control

In the 2019 Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) annual report, two-thirds of consumers agreed with the statement: “In general, store brand products I have bought are just as good, if not better than the national version of the same products.”While the price of meats, poultry, fish and eggs rose 4.3% in April, the cost of frozen varieties of those same products has remained more stable, Lempert says. It has milk as a major ingredient, so it’s more likely to have a price increase than a wild rice mix because the price of dairy products are already up 1.5%.That said, price increases on shelf-stable items are going to happen slower because they’ve been stored more in warehouses and the increased costs of raw materials haven’t hit the products on the shelves just yet.“We have not seen price increases across the board,” Lehman says. There’s only a handful of brands and suppliers in the meat department of your local retailer, but there are a ton of snack food companies, so you likely won’t see price spikes on those items yet.While it’s a good idea to continue to purchase self-stable products right now, start to pay more attention to prices on products that contain ingredients that may have had more challenges during the pandemic.If you’re looking to trim your food budget, it’s worth considering making everything from scratch and skipping prepared foods or meals that come from a box, Lehman says.