Food , services, insurance , construction costs, healthcare costs, property taxes , materials , fuel , energy

Also it's not hard to find cheap food at the grocery store. Whole free-range, locally grown chicken for 99c/lb is commonplace in my neck of the woods.

It's the convenience/brand power stuff that is really spiked. Fast food falls into that.

Honestly, calling BS on this. The cheapest large package mass produced factory farmed chicken at my local big retailer grocery store is $2/lb. The nicer stuff is more like $5/lb.

If people want cheaper food, they should eat less meat or no meat at all. It blows my mind how cheap it is to eat a vegetarian diet. Dried black beans are $1/pound. That is a lot of food for very little money! Rice is super cheap. Potatoes are super cheap.

If you rely on staple vegetarian food for the bulk of your calories and then “decorate” with fresh fruits and vegetables, you can eat very well for not a lot of money.

Heh the $1/lb isn't a lie - you can get whole chicken for as cheap as your dried beans! Just gotta pay attention to sales.

Maybe it's because I'm in WA - a huge agricultural state. I get Draper Valley Farms whole chickens for 99c/lb on the regular. It's $2.89/lb (already a good price) when not on sale, but the sale has been happening a couple times a month like clockwork now.

The Draper Valley Farms stuff is generally cheaper than the Kroger-branded stuff, no matter the cut. Like right now, boneless thighs are 50c cheaper per lb (no sales). It's $6/lb vs $6.50/lb. Bone-in is $3.79/lb! The Kroger brand doesn't even offer that variety for some reason.

A few lbs of that + some orzo (cheap) + some staple produce (shallot, cherry tomatoes, garlic) can make you 6 very filling and delicious meals. When you compare it to fast food, the difference is staggering - definitely a divergence compared to the diff years ago. It's the convenience stuff that is truly spiking. Groceries are definitely a lower % of my income than half a decade ago.

The barrier to most people is they can't process a whole chicken.