TOLEDO, Ohio — It's a bustling day at Monnette's Market on Glendale. Customers are rushing to pick up their holiday groceries, but their receipts might look a little different this year. General manager Isaac Stanford says rising inflation means rising grocery prices.
"You see inflation across the board, anywhere from 20-50%. But our customers are loyal. They're definitely supporting local, and we love that they're continuing to support us during these tough times," Stanford.
Stamford says some of the items hit hardest by rising prices are meat, and especially beef. For customer Mike Matuszak, who lives on a fixed income, it means changing what he serves at his family get-together.
"Chicken is definitely higher on the menu list than beef, beef has gone almost out of budget since I'm retired," Matuszak.
His family's memorial day dinner is a victim of inflation as well, so they're scaling back what they're serving, for instance switching bratwurst for hotdogs.
And Matuszak's not the only one making changes. Cheryl Taylor says with a new mouth to feed, she's being more cautious than ever with how she buys groceries.
"Now when I go to stores, I'm sometimes pulling up websites, comparing the prices, if it means me driving a little further around the corner or something I will," Taylor.
But the customers I talked to say even with prices as high as they are, they're still conscious of where their dollars are going.
They to say places like Monnette's have quality products, and with times as tough as they are, they're happy to put their money into local businesses.
With rising employee wages and adjusting to more expensive overhead costs, Stamford says the community support has saved them from a lot of pain.
"And that's why we love our customers, and we thank them for going through these tough times. But we just try to make we hold up our end of the bargain and give them great quality," said Stanford.