"The Frugal Gourmets: Value is the Watchword as Shoppers Search for Supermarket Bargains," November 21, 2008. Ylan Q. Mui and Annys Shin. Washington Post.

"...Earlier this year, oil prices reached record highs, setting off a chain reaction of price increases that has rippled through the economy, ultimately showing up on grocery receipts.

In recent months, some of those trends began to reverse. With a gallon of gas now closer to $2, the cost of nearly everything has also decreased. The Labor Department reported this week that the Consumer Price Index, a closely watched inflation gauge, fell 1 percent in October -- the biggest one-month drop in more than 61 years.

One exception, however, was food prices, which rose three-tenths of 1 percent compared with the previous month. Although prices for several types of food, including produce and dairy, dropped last month, categories such as cereal and meat continued to grow. According to the CPI, the cost of food has increased 6.1 percent over the past 12 months, not adjusted for inflation, though the rate of growth has slowed since this summer...."