Hi Scott!
Food prices haven't come down where I live either. (Edmonds, Washington). However, there are ways to economize when it comes to food. My mom grew up in the depression and learned a lot of ways to prepare good nutritional dinners for very little money. Every time we had a beef roast, she saved the "drippings" that the meat was cooked in. They made wonderful gravy and beef stew! Whenever we had a turkey at Thanksgiving, she made soup from the leftover bones. Mom also cooked a lot of beans adding brown sugar, onion and mustard for flavor. Dry white beans are very cheap compared to meat. Split peas are also cheaper and make good soup. You don't have to add ham to it if you can't afford it. They are also a good source of potassium. These suggestions might help your food budget a little. It did mine!
PML