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NewslettersJust a Little Less Ice Cream this 4th of July
Just when I thought the world couldn't throw anything my way that would surprise me, they shrink my favorite ice cream from the traditional 1/2 gallon size to 1.5 quarts.
Breyers has recently accomplished what is known as a back door price increase, by changing packaging ever so slightly. In fact they are so sneaky I hadn't noticed the shift from 1/2 gallon to the 1.75 quart size a few years ago.
But withhold a 1/2 quart now that I noticed. The ice cream manufacturer changed their packing by keeping the same height and width so that at least on the freezer shelf their package looks like the traditional 1/2 gallon, but wait the package is nearly 1 inch narrower.
What's next ten eggs vs a dozen? I hate to be in a nostalgia rut but whatever happened to a baker's dozen or adding an extra scoop after the product was weighed and priced?
Hey Guys guess what? Even your trusted spouse is in on the scam to dilute your childhood pleasure.
"Keep your spouse on track by swapping out his favorite regular ice cream sandwich for a 100-calorie Slim-a-Bear® sandwich. If he's the type to be skeptical about better-for-you treats, this one may surprise him!" So reads a recent email advertisement for Unilever Ice Cream, the maker of the Slim-a-Bear® line.
Slim a Bear? Give me a break!
So whatever happened to the wholesome goodness and fun that once came down the street in a "Good Humor" truck?
Above the logo that was in use until 2000.
The sound of tinkling bells that once alerted kids to the imminent arrival of the Good Humor truck have been all but silenced, in part to changing consumer habits, over committed youth sports and of course the emergence of child predators who have made anyone who has contact with children suspect.
Back in 1961, the Good Humor Corporation owned and operated nearly 200 trucks thoughout the Midwest. Franchise operations expanded the trucks and brand deep into the South and East. When the Popsicle Corportion and Good Humor joined forces the two giants of frozen ice cream on a stick controled nearly 70% of all street vendor ice cream sales in the United States.
Good Humor ice creams once included the original Good Humor bar, Chocolate Éclair, Strawberry shortcake, Candy center crunch, Toasted Almond, Oreo bar, Giant ice cream sandwich, Cookie sandwich, Sundae cone and other from the Popsicle line, the classic Creamsicle, Fudgsicle, and red white and blue Firecracker.
Today you can still find Good Humor ice cream products in grocery stores and mini marts as well as Unilever's other brands, popsicle, Breyers, and Klondike.
The truck operations at Good Humor ceased in 1978. Now a handful of ice cream truck enthusiasts and small vendors scattered about the the country continue to operate the famous "Good Humor" trucks.
Nice to know some things can still be found if you just look hard enough. Now if I can just find where they put that other 1/2 a quart.
- Motoryachtsoco's blog
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I noticed that with Edy's ice cream several months ago; what a drastic change.
Same Price - Less Product
Propane - standard tank USED to be 20lbs - the exchange tanks are 17.
Butter - it seems a pound is now 14oz.
Tortilla Chips - First it was a the 'Pounder.' Then it shrunk to 14oz - now, the old 'family size' bag is 11oz - same price.
Potato Chips - 12oz, shrunk to 10.75, then 9 and are now 8oz standard bag - same price.
Coffee - 16oz, to 14, 12 and now some 'pound cans' of coffee are 10oz -
Ice Cream - see above - I'd rather go to Dairy Queen
Have you noticed that 42" PLasma/LCD TV's are now '42" class' and are anywhere from 40.5 to 41.5 diagonally [see Best Buy ads].
Jars of Spaghetti sauce went from 18oz to 16.75.
It must be the Metric System . . .
Other items not as large now as they were in the 1980's
US Navy.
Soviet Union [Russia]
Republicans
George Bush's future [both of them]
there are others - but these came to mind
Another smaller item is the buying power of the dollar. In 1980, 38 cents would buy what we now pay a dollar for. In other words, if we bought something for a dollar, we would now have to pay 2.62 for the same item. My dad, who has now passed, was born in 1913. A dollar in 1913 would now be worth 21.72. Inflation is still hard at work, but it is not new.
Land, gold, and diamonds are static in value (as are a few other commodities). When any of them cost more money, their value has not changed, the value of the money we pay for them with is lessened in value. So, if your Dad's Dad bought an acre of land for $35 in 1913 and then gave it to your Dad in 1935 and then your Dad gave it to you in 1970, and then you sold it in 2007 for the same $35 our money would still be worth the same as it was back then. Of course everyone would have had to adhere to the same formula with land, gold, diamonds, and the other constant valued commodities. But, with human nature being what it is, we all seem to need to profit on such things. In doing so, we devalue our money. Buy a house today for 150K and sell it in three years for 210K and we made some money....money that is relatively worth less. Then we have to go replace the house with another in the same inflated market. Just to get more money that is worth less than the money we started with. True profit from production oriented sources increases the value of our money, and is the only true profit! In other words, work for your money, don't depend on inflation to feed your bank account, and our money will be strong and valuable.
As a nation, we've decided to burn our food sources and feed as ethanol and biodiesel rather than use it for food. Taxpayers are subsidizing ethanol and biodiesel plants. The proponents said that would lower our gas prices and reduce dependence on foreign oil. We all see how well that's worked...
It's also had the effect of raising grain prices dramatically. For example, in October of 2005 the Illinois market, a reflection of national markets, was $1.83 per bushel for corn. In May 2008 it was $5.20. (see
http://www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu/manage/pricehistory/price_history.html
for sources)
Since Dairy cattle eat grain and dairy farmers need fuel to run their equipment and transport their product, milk cost more to produce. However, the government sets prices for the dairyman, so he can't charge what the market will bear for raw or initially processed milk.
The middlemen still gets the lion's share of the money from sale of processed dairy products. The dairy farmer gets about half the retail price for milk.
As for buying Ice cream at the stores, I need to lose a bit of weight, so reducing ice cream intake won't be a problem for me. I can still make it at home as cheaply as I can get it in the stores - and the quality is much better. We actually have Graeter's, a local brand, selling for a whopping 13 bucks for what used to be a half gallon. I can make good stuff (not the frothy gum/chemical filled crap) for about $9 a gallon.
With all the e.coli scares on beef and tomatoes, I suspect demand will drop - at least temporarily - and prices for those foods will stabilize.
Somewhat off topic, but I've found that unprocessed staples and basic canned goods haven't gone up nearly as much as the prepared and processed "convenience" foods and junk food snacks. I can still get iceberg lettuce for about what I paid three years ago.
So, using coupons, cash-back grocery store credit cards, looking for specials, planning and combining our shopping trips (saves fuel) and buying what's on sale and fixing our own meals keeps our grocery bills in check. Last night we bought about $45 list price of groceries (Milk, muffins, bread, buns, canned goods, cheese, popcorn, butter and ground chuck) for $9.90 after cash back certificates and sale prices(no coupons this time).
Also, we never shop while we're hungry. It's amazing how much extra crap we bought when we did. Try it sometime and see how it works for you!