Patricia Norris' family is feeling the one-two punch of higher fuel and food prices.
Her husband works as messenger, driving around to deliver packages. But the job is not as profitable as it once was because rising fuel prices are eating into his earnings.
With money tight and food prices rising, Norris can no longer afford to buy beef and chicken on a regular basis.
"We buy meat only for special occasions. Like for Easter, we had a ham," she said after a shopping trip at her local Wal-Mart in Romeoville, a mixed blue- and white-collar suburb of Chicago.
Norris must purchase only what is on her shopping list, to avoid spending more than she can afford.
"Sometimes I cry," she said, when she passes items on store shelves she can no longer buy.
Across the United States, consumers like Norris are finding that grocery shopping has become a sobering experience as their budgets fail to keep pace with food costs.
I guess my question is how high will it go. I've been noticing the spiraling food costs and it does make things a little tighter which only hurts the beef industry. What's the old saying, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. I'm hoping I get stronger.
Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Phillips Brooks
