Tips for taming rising grocery prices

(Linda Stern is a freelance writer. Any opinions in the column are solely those of Ms. Stern. You can e-mail her at

lindastern@aol.com.)

By Linda Stern

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Gasoline isn't the only necessity of life that has gotten painfully expensive. Prices are rising sharply on eggs, rice, poultry, milk and bread -- all of the dietary staples.

Families with stagnant salaries who have been barely affording the rising cost of health care, driving and home heating and cooling now also have to figure out how to squeeze in eating.

And it could get worse before it gets better.

Some say prices of meat, pork and poultry have been held artificially low in recent years. The conversion of fields previously used for soy and feed grain into corn for ethanol will continue to have an impact. Corn, which finds its way into many food items -- as corn syrup for one -- has more than doubled in price the last two years.

But put that all in perspective: Food prices have actually been fairly stable for more than a decade. According to the latest Department of Agriculture figures (from 2006), American households spend less than 6 percent of their income on food -- that's less than in any other country.

Fortunately, there are almost as many ways to save on food as there are to eat. Frugal eating often dovetails with nutritious eating -- the most expensive foods often are the least healthy. Here's how to eat well and still have some money left for dessert.

-- Use the best advice from folks who have already done it. The blogosphere is full of frustrated home economics teachers who are more than happy to share their best frugal tips and recipes. A few places to start are:

here;

www.frugalfamilykitchen.com;

www.mommysavers.com; and

www.cheapcooking.com.

-- Coupon carefully. If you're willing to put in the time and effort, you can buy a basket of groceries for pennies on the dollar. It involves using coupons, shopping sales, finding stores that double coupons and putting it all together carefully. One site to check for more information is www.hotcouponworld.com.

You can find coupons to match items on sale at your local grocer at www.thegrocerygame.com. Beware: Unless you're using good coupons on products you would buy anyway, this can be a spending trap instead of a money-saving deal.