 NEW
YORK - Breakfast is now being served with a side of sticker shock.
The
price of bacon is surging and the cost of other morning staples,
like coffee and orange juice, is set to rise because of global
supply problems, from drought in Brazil to disease on U.S. pig
farms.
And
it’s not just the first meal of the day that’s being affected.
The cost of meats, fish and eggs led the biggest increase in U.S.
food prices in nearly 2 1/2 years last month, according to
government data. An index that tracks those foods rose 1.2 percent
in February and has climbed 4 percent over the last 12 months.
While
overall inflation remains low, the increases in food prices are
forcing shoppers to search out deals and cut back.
Denise
Gauthier, 54, a screenwriter in North Hollywood, Calif., calls the
rising prices ‘‘shocking and outrageous.’’ To cope, she has
become more frugal, hunting for discounts and buying less food
overall.
‘‘I
will look for things that are on sale and adjust my menu for
that,’’ says Gauthier, who now stocks up on her favorite coffee
when it goes on sale for $4.99.
Even
though food companies use a range of cost-cutting methods to limit
the effect of higher food costs, consumers will likely feel the
‘‘ripple effects’’ of rising commodity prices, according to
the Grocery Manufacturers Association, a trade organization for more
than 300 food, beverage and consumer product companies.
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