Why Are Groceries So Expensive?

Like most people, you may have wondered why your grocery bills have shot up over the past few months. People across North America have seen their food expenses increase steadily and eat into other areas of their budgets. While rising grocery prices are a source of anxiety for many households, it’s possible to save money and lead a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle by growing your own food.

What is Causing Rising Grocery Prices?

While many factors contribute to the rising cost of groceries, most of them are related to inflation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts that food prices will continue to increase by 3-4% throughout the rest of 2022. This is in addition to the almost 8% increase we've already seen since last year and is compounded by other inflated prices in energy and fuel resources.  Even worse, this is just an average number. The price inflation of individual items can range from 1% to almost 15%, depending on what area of the supermarket you're shopping in. Meat, fish, eggs, and poultry have increased by around 13%, while fresh fruits have risen by roughly 10%. Vegetables and cereals have a lower inflation rate at about 4% and 7%, respectively.While it's not evident when this current inflation trend will start to slow down, it's clear that individuals and families need to be thinking about ways to save money and lower their food bills.

What are the Alternatives?

There is an alternative to spending hundreds of dollars each month on inflated prices of fruits and vegetables. You can grow your own food.Now, this is certainly not an easy or quick solution. Growing your own food takes a significant amount of time and effort. However, it’s a process that actually gets easier over time as you learn more about cultivation and your garden becomes more established. Even better, one of the goals of growing a food forest is to replicate natural processes and create a thriving ecosystem that nourishes itself and remains productive without constant human involvement. Once your food forest is established, it will attract a wide range of beneficial insects, animals, and microorganisms that all contribute to a healthy, well-balanced environment. Growing vegetables in raised beds and containers is a good start. However, at Food Forest Abundance, we encourage people to design a food forest that takes advantage of all eight growing layers so that you can grow a more expansive portfolio of fruits and vegetables that work together and lead to more abundant harvests.

Takeaway

If you'd like to learn more about growing your own food forest, we have several helpful articles on our blog, covering topics from food forest planting arrangements to types of edible weeds and wild plants. You can also purchase a food forest landscape  blueprint designed by the experts at Food Forest Abundance. We customize each blueprint to your unique environment and requirements, including your topography and the level of production you wish to have. If you believe in leading a more sustainable lifestyle and want to grow healthier food while saving money, reach out to our team. We'll be happy to help you design your own food forest and boost your self-reliance.