News Bites: Eating Spam to Cut Your Grocery Bill
For most of the year I’ve been perplexed by the people grumbling about food inflation. My weekly grocery bill hasn’t seen much change, so what’s the problem I wondered. That was my thinking until yesterday when I paid $3.95 for fifteen ounces of orange juice. Hey, I was feeling rundown — I needed it for an on-the-go boost.
The AP reports, ‘œFood prices are increasing faster than they’ve risen since 1990, at 4 percent in the U.S. last year, according to the Agriculture Department. Many staples are rising even faster, with white bread up 13 percent last year, bacon up 7 percent and peanut butter up 9 percent.
‘œThere’s no sign of a slowdown. Food inflation is running at an annualized rate of 6.1 percent as of April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.’
So how are some shoppers coping? They’re buying Hormel Spam in record numbers.
‘œAccording 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,’ says the AP.
And sales are reaching across age and income demographics, attracting more new and returning customers.
I think I’d sooner skip a meal than eat canned meat that never expires. [See their FAQs here.]
Are there any pro-Spam voices out there?
Spam is no more threatening than a can of tuna. I think it tastes pretty good. It’s a little pricier than a normal meal for my partner and I, but it’s filling and it satisfies the craving for fat and protein. Slice it thin and it goes a long ways.
When you’re poor, you can’t afford to turn up your nose at cheap food.
Yeah, Spam isn’t very different from canned tuna when you think about it. Fish in a can may even be more off-putting to some.
Pasta still remains my favorite cheap food.
Well, we’re vegetarian but for cheap food I like rice and beans or lentils and rice.
Give it a try, it tastes like your basic salty ham, but a little bit more fatty. It’s fine. The Hawaiians have all kinds of incredible stuff they do with it.
I don’t really like Spam, but I always find it funny that in the UK during the WW2 it was a luxury food (required extra rations, but was actually available). Tuna, on the other hand, seems delicious.
Jeremy at GenX Finance made a point yesterday that you can often find foods at cheaper prices per pound than spam. I happen to hate spam, so I’d always go with beans instead…or meat on sale.
“Pasta still remains my favorite cheap food.”
Something tells me you’re not wild about pasta in a can, though!
I haven’t cooked with Spam. When I’m in the mood for way too many nitrates (nitrites?) I prefer pepperoni, hotdogs, or bacon. (I also eat tuna from a can and pasta from a can.)
Debbie M: OK, you busted me. But I’m not totally anti-canned foods. I practically live on Trader Joe’s chicken noodle soup. They’re less than $2 a can and delicious!
Some other canned foods I think are great are:
– beans (no soaking needed, and they’re already cooked)
– tomatoes (when canned, they can have more lycopene than unprocessed tomatoes, and they last longer)
– corn and peas, for when the mood strikes for a more nutritious side dish. I hate having to throw out fresh veggies, so it’s good keeping some canned veggies around.
I don’t mind canned tuna unless I use lots of mayo, which I rather avoid.
I satisfy my nitrate fix with Subway $2.99 daily sandwhich specials.
I only barely busted you. Maybe you don’t like spaghettios, but Trader Joe’s chicken noodle soup sounds like it’s got some pasta in that can!
Spam is a great way to cut down the food bill. Open just one can and I lose my appetite for hours! 😉
Though I ate Spam when I was a kid and loved it then. These days I am about a month away from completing my Masters in Holistic Nutrition and now know about nitrites and would not touch the stuff. Trying to eat cheaply is not a good reason to eat Spam. I tell my nutrition clients NOTHING is worth compromising your health. Go veggie!
How wonderfully timely. As it happens I’m someone who has heckled Spam for most of my life I find myself considering it as a viable purchase in my newly unemployed status. It’s funny because when you’re working groceries are just a normal everyday purchase that you don’t think much about. When you have no income regular purchases (like meat and fruit) become luxuries. Anything that rots becomes a low priority. The cheapest foods are starches (pasta, rice, bread) but people need protein for balance. Preserved meat is the best investment (cheap and lasts forever). I may indeed be eating a lot of Spam in the near future.