Are You Having a Food Crisis?
October’s CRS Briefing’s theme is Harvest of Hope.
CRS President Ken Hackett’s letter outlines the current global food crisis. In feature stories from Burkina Faso, Haiti and Ethiopia, you’ll meet people who daily feel the pain of rising food prices.
Are rising food prices causing you to change the way you eat? Crimping your budget for other things?
We’d like to know how food costs have affected you, if at all. Don’t hesitate to add your thoughts about the Briefing stories.
The question: How have increased food prices affected you?
Tags: Briefing, global food crisis, Hunger
11 Responses to “Are You Having a Food Crisis?”
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September 30th, 2008 at 9:50 am
For better physical & financial health we eat less meat and more grain & vegetables & fruit. When convenient we skip Friday supper. Obviously nothing like the poor of the world are experiencing.
Richard Hammer
September 30th, 2008 at 9:52 am
I eat less and pray that all God’s children will have enough. Money saved goes to help the poor.
September 30th, 2008 at 10:03 am
We eat less meat and started growing almost all our vegetables and fruit. The availablility of water is crucial.
September 30th, 2008 at 10:04 am
We have made some changes although our situation is in no way comparable to that of these developing countries who have been hit so hard.
The biggest change so far is that we have almost entirely cut out the extras - such as chips, other snacks - that are expensive and not really healthy anyway. We have also become even more careful about trying to calculate the amounts we will actually use of each category (protein, vegetables, etc) till the next shopping day, in order to avoid spoilage.
These are really nothing more than changing back to what we should have been doing all along for frugality and health! Most of us in America are so fortunate to be in this position, rather than that of having to cut food costs from subsistence level to outright starvation.
September 30th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Food costs take almost all the money I have. There is very little left for anything else. No books. Very little money for movies. I consider myself lucky, though. Because I’m still able to afford food. It’s just now there’s nothing left for anything else. I’ve been going to the library more now and enjoying that.
September 30th, 2008 at 10:23 am
I’m currently unemployed. The high cost of gas and food have forced me to become more mindful of two things. First, I try to organize driving in such a way to bunch several errands so that I do not need to drive as much.
Secondly, I shop for food in inexpensive food providers and eat far less. Though I’ve never been one to eat out a lot - I do so even less so now.
Thirdly, the parish where I attend mass has a regular collection for St. Vincent de Paul. I give more to that now knowing others are perhaps in far worse shape than I am.
September 30th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
We receive food stamps and recently started taking vitamin supplements. Our food supply lasts longer, as a result of taking the vitamins. However, the cost of food and gasoline is having an effect, as well.
(1) We have to prioritize what we’re going to purchase ahead of time,
(2) We depend more heavily on coupons, discount bargain bins, club cards and special sales,
(3) We eat together less as a family, due to higher food prices,
(4) We run out of certain staples (milk, eggs and meat) faster than in the past.
(5) It is sometimes actually cheaper to eat out at fast food restaurants, than it is to prepare an entire meal, if there are only one or two people involved.
Thanks for listening…
September 30th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
I am paying more for electric than for food.
Now the electric company is asking for a 50% increase over the next three years.
Hard to cut my food costs any more as they too are going up, up, and up.
My income stays the same since I am retired. Excepting the Social Security annual increase which
last year was around $20.00 per month.
I am open for suggestions.
September 30th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
I focus my giving more on food related issues — both the CRS work with sustainable agriculture and other microlending NGOs which focus on farming and food distribution. I am also mindful of supporting my local farmers to keep our food security and economy strong here at home, and shop every week at my town’s Farmer’s market for most of my food.
October 1st, 2008 at 9:06 am
Since I’m an immigrant from Latin America and saw the poverty and hunger in my own country,we considered our coming to the US as a blessing.Some suggestions that work very well for our family are:Buy at least the Sunday paper,mark the brands that you usually buy or plan to buy,keep them (coupons)in your car or wallet,wait to buy the 2 for 1 (we do pretty well at winn-dixie in south florida)buy in bulk,clean and divide portions of meat ,poultry and vegetables that allows getting frozen.I like to always make a list before going shopping and stick to a budget,I take a look to the supermarket flyers before leaving home.I plan on a weekly basis to get exactly what I need and the route to do it before the store changes the specials,(mostly tuesday or wednesday).Besides that,I thank God every day for my many blessings :my job,my bed and my family.
October 3rd, 2008 at 10:21 pm
We are fortunate to still be able to buy food even though the prices are increasing. I help out at the local food bank, and we have seen a very big increase in working families that cannot afford to feed themselves and their children. They come into the food bank every week to supplement their diet. The food bank is struggling to keep the shelves filled. It makes me sad for our country that we don’t take better care of the food, shelter, and health care needs of our people, not to mention the spiritual needs. After all, man does not live on bread alone…