WEST VALLEY CITY — As grocery prices continue to strain household budgets, many Utah families are looking for ways to make their dollars stretch a little further.
Fox 13 News spoke with families at Rancho Markets who say rising prices are squeezing household budgets. The supermarket is a part of Fox 13’s Scare Away Hunger campaign, which benefits the Utah Food Bank. Through October, people can donate canned goods and other non-perishable food at Rancho Markets and Granite Credit Union locations, as well as Nightfall Halloween Park.
Families feel the squeeze
Dana Perez, marketing director for Rancho Markets, said rising prices are putting a strain on the store’s customers.
“Lately we’ve seen the prices go up and most of the time, the salary doesn’t go up, we’ve been seeing our customers struggle with that,” Perez explained.
She said more shoppers are checking the store’s weekly specials before deciding what to buy.
“Obviously, people like to get the deals. They like to get the lower price. They see ‘Oh, we have this and that from the weekly specials and we’re going to add it to the list,’ that’s what we’re seeing,” Perez said.
Buying only what’s needed
West Valley City residents Antonio Velazquez and Anna Morales said they are also cutting back. Velazquez works as a workshop installer. Velazquez says they have six kids.
“My work hours goes up and down. I'm working less but everything is going up in price. It’s getting difficult to save,” they said.
The couple said they are buying only what is necessary.
“If we’re going to grab 20 things, we think about the most necessary and we cut it by 15 or so,” they explained while shopping for groceries.
For many families, those small savings can make a big difference.
“We just want to tell them, we see them,” Perez said.