Grocery prices

Has anyone else noticed an increase in grocery prices over the last couple years?  I know, stupid question right?  I actually never thought too much about it until just recently, I guess because our bills have increased over the last year.  Now I just can't believe how much it costs to feed my family!  I've always been very careful about shopping the sales and using coupons when I can but I've come to realize that just isn't enough anymore.  I'm still working on a solution but I thought I would share a couple ideas that could help lower that grocery bill each month.  First of all, I am working on meal planning so that I'm not wasting food and can shop weekly instead of a couple huge shopping trips a month.  If you are shopping more often you can also take advantage of reduced meat prices for quick sale.  You can save a bundle on your meat this way.  I try to stop at the store when I'm already in the area to save on gas too.  Then there are the little things that add up like making sure I always have the necessities on hand like milk, eggs, bread, potatoes, or whatever is most popular in your home.  I'm no longer buying lunch meat from the meat case being it expires so quickly, now I buy pre-packaged lunch meat so we use it all.  Another big one for our house is drinks for the kids, no more juice boxes!  Now I buy sugar free powder drinks that I can make a pitcher of and that is a big savings right there.  I know it's tough but I guess we just have to adjust!