Mac and cheese sales spike

[meegbear]

Sales of boxed macaroni and cheese, a product category led by Northfield, Ill., based Kraft Foods, have experienced a significant rise.

The product, which debuted 70 years ago, posted 10 percent growth in 2007, due in part to soaring sales of single-serve microwaveable Easy Mac cups, which experienced a 50 percent rise in sales for the year, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Tuesday.

Harry Balzer, vice president of consumer research firm NPD Group, said about one-third of the U.S. population and half of the country's children will feast on macaroni and cheese at some point during the next two weeks. That number marks a significant increase from 1984, when about 30 percent of the U.S. population and 40 percent of children in the country would have snacked on the popular pasta dish in a two-week period.

"It's almost always a main meal," he said.

Kraft introduced its first stovetop macaroni and cheese dinners, which included cheese sauce packets, in 1937, a time when people in the United States were searching for foods to help them compensate for dairy rations and difficulty purchasing meat.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Quirks/2008/02/05/mac_and_cheese_sales_spike/9053/

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Sign of the times.

[SpiralHawk]

1. Thanks a pantload, republicons

This is your economic 'expertise' in action. The rich are much, much richer, and the poor are hungry. Shameful. UnChristian in the extreme.

[leftchick]

15. they do not give a shit

they will be eating this. All of the elites will be...

[Progressive_In_NC]

44. Just like the makeover of the Congressional menus spearheaded by our Speaker

They spent time working on getting expensive food in the Congressional cafeterias, while the rest of us are struggling to afford our grocery bills.

[Maddy McCall]

2. Because it's cheap. NOT because it's good.

I'd rather eat iceberg lettuce. Or cardboard.

[ixion]

6. yep... processed food product, devoid of nutritional content

mmmmmmmm. :sarcasm:

[mcscajun]

8. Damn right! It is mostly definitely Not good.

Plastic food. :thumbsdown:

[tridim]

14. Those single serving cups that the article talks about aren't cheap

Although it's still pure junk food.

[Maddy McCall]

17. What--$2 a cup?

That's cheap. Much cheaper than a meal. And people are eating this junk as a meal.

[tridim]

25. A whole box of M&C costs about 80 cents. THAT'S cheap.

$2.00 for a tiny cup (about 25% of what you get from the box version) is very expensive IMO.

Not to mention, a cup of pasta, cheese food and sodium is not a meal. It's a side dish at best.

[SmokingJacket]

19. And easy, don't forget.

I think a lot of people justify feeding their kids crap in the name of convenience -- "We're so busy these day, who has time to cook?" How many times have I heard that??

[libbygurl]

3. And people wonder about the obesity/malnourishment epidemic. nt

[Deja Q]

5. *bingo*

[Deja Q]

4. BUY SHARES IN KRAFT INC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:crazy:

[mcscajun]

7. Boxed Mac & Cheese was always a budget balancer. This is Not Good.

When I was first married back in the early 70s, we were broke pretty much all the time, and I counted every penny in the grocery aisle. Boxed Mac & Cheese was always on the list.

I haven't eaten it in Decades, thankfully. Sorry to see many are either returning to it, or increasing their purchases of it. :(

[Tyler Durden]

9. When I was broke....

I would go to a "wholesale" grocer and pick up a case of Mac and Cheese at 10 cents a box, and a case of condensed tomato soup at 15 cents a can. You make the Mac and Cheese using the can of soup instead of butter and milk. Really shabby, but more nutricious. 25 cents fills you up.

[latebloomer]

37. My mo-in-law had that for dinner last night!

with the Campbell's tomato soup.

Actually I had a spoonful and it tasted awful.

She has moved in with us and insists on bringing all kinds of crap into the house. Like Betty Crocker's potatoes and imitation bacon and cheese in a box. The stuff is so junky, plus it tastes horrible. I forbid my kids from eating it, tho she keeps offering it to them.

[Tyler Durden]

38. I had no choice.

When you work it out, 25 cents for two meals in a day, I could afford to eat.

[Frustratedlady]

10. Kids, even college kids, prefer the Kraft microwave mac/cheese

to homemade. Go figure!

It's cheap, quick and they can add tuna or browned hamburger for a main dish. I guess it beats some of the other junk food they could buy.

For young parents, it's a quick meal for the little ones. With the price of today's meat, how can they afford many normal meals?

[shain from kane]

11. Have sales of Rice-a-Roni and Top Ramen noodles peaked? n/t

[YOY]

12. You mean "Cheese and Macaroni" don't you?

Sorry...had to.

[tinrobot]

13. I wonder if ramen sales are up, too.

n/t

[slor]

16. Do people not know...

how to make their own? I mean I will even eat that Kraft stuff sometimes, when my wife craves it, but it is a far cry from homemade, and homemade is just as easy.

[InkAddict]

22. No one is home to make much from scratch.

Two to three jobs with unusual hours, classes, commutes, cleaning up the messes/bathrooms, kids' activities...

[left is right]

27. It's not just about ease

I make a terrific scalloped potatoes. But I can't make it for less than $5 and at least 75 minutes time-wise. I can prepare boxed scalloped potatoes for $2 and 45 minutes

[sybylla]

28. Just as easy but no where near so cheap

Real cheese is expensive. I much prefer my own homemade mac and cheese, but when the budget gets tight, it's off the menu.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

32. Have you priced milk and cheese these days??

You need both to make mac & cheese and they are crazy expensive, especially cheese. Sadly, it is far cheaper to buy a box of Kraft mac for $2.

[slor]

33. I am only employed part-time...

and I eat alot of cereal, partly due to budget reasons, so I know the price of milk. But I assure you, if you broke down the cost of the ingredients and the mumber of dishes you will make with those ingredients, it could easily come close enough to the $2.00 for that kraft stuff, and it would be far tastier.

[LanternWaste]

39. Off the top of my head (as I heat it a lot)

Off the top of my head (as I heat it a lot)-- I get the Target store brand box of mac & cheese for $0.32, a cup of milk for about $0.25 and half a cup of butter for about $0.50--so the four servings I get from it equal out to about $1.05 (or just over twenty five cents a serving) or thereabouts. Not too shabby.

[slor]

42. That is cheap but please tell me...

that you use a little salt and pepper too. Throw some fresh sage in there and a little crushed red pepper flakes maybe? I like to make mine with Smoked Gouda and some Gruyere, and finish the top with Panko crumbs with toasted pine nuts and fresh sage. I cannot afford to make it often, but then again, it is pretty rich so it is good to space when I make it.

[LanternWaste]

43. I usually throw in a pinch of salt, and a pinch of ginger

I usually throw in a pinch of salt, and a pinch of ginger (really!) for additional flavor if it's available. Depending on if budget allows, I'll throw in some sliced up hot dogs too.

I can't even pretend to be a chef :)

[DemSigns]

18. Go Organic with Kraft M+C

I kid you not. Costs a little more. Presidents choice White Cheese M+C is good also.

[tridim]

26. Organic or not, it's still carb-loaded, sodium soaked junk.

[ThatsMyBarack]

20. Check out this classic ad!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRGmzaS2css

I think it goes back further than 1981, though....

[libbygurl]

21. Sign of the times, indeed. More people turning to cheap, non-nourishing instant...

...meals again. Also think the instant meals are more convenient for people/families working several jobs to keep afloat.

Why are the more healthful fresh fruits and vegetables(at least for protein) not subsidized, pray tell? I think everyone knows by now their higher nutritional value, but what's the government doing about encouraging their consumption?

And the USA is an alleged First World country?

[closeupready]

23. This is not a surprise. Food prices have skyrocketed. Everybody knows that.

So, as Clinton's team quipped, people buy hamburger instead of steak. Now, instead of hamburger, people are substituting this.

[Bombero1956]

24. what Bill Engvall calls

broke food. Cut up some spam and chow down. :sarcasm:

[1776Forever]

29. Oh does this bring back memories! Rasing 5 kids and a disabled husband 1980 Reagan cuts SSD payment

Oh yeah those were the days - NOT!!!!!

One of my boys recently told me they wished I hadn't fed them so much macaroni and cheese and I started to tear up and told him we were lucky to have the macaroni and cheese son!! Yes I know about that and we wonder why there are all so many obese children and adults. Let alone the STRESS level we have today. That makes my metabolism go crazy with a thyroid problem I have. Is this our future? I never thought it would get this bad in 2008!!!!!!!

:scared:

[earth mom]

30. Wonder what the sales figures are for Ramen noodles?

I see people buy them by the caseload. :wow:

[Norrin Radd]

31. Partially boil them, stir fry the rest of the way with Teriyaki or Tonkatsu sauce

(or soy sauce with sugar). Quick Yakisoba.

[earth mom]

36. I can't eat them. They taste like cardboard. Same with Mac & Cheese. nt

[Bluebear]

34. Can't wait for the self-righteous brigade to snoot that people are too fat.

"It's almost always a main meal," he said.

[Ilsa]

35. We do homemade mac and cheese, and I add big chunks of

ham for my husband and sons to eat. I can't eat that much dairy in one day, and I don't eat meat at all.

[Elspeth]

40. A sign of the economic times.

Sigh.

[Dawggie]

41. And why is obesity on the rise?

Cheap food means cheap products with one goal: To fill a void in a palatable way.

Now that companies can do this without poisoning us, there's no telling how many innocents will die to keep stockholders happy.