THIS IS ONLY NEWS TO PEOPLE WHO DON’T BUY THEIR OWN GROCERIES: Food inflation seen back on the table as prices rise. I do most of our grocery shopping, and frankly I’m not super-careful about prices, but even I have been shocked by how much more things cost. Maybe it’s time for strategic shopping. Anyway, I’m pretty sure that this, along with skyrocketing gas prices, is why the White House would rather have people talk about hoodies and birth control.

UPDATE: Reader Greg Beairsto writes:

Not only are food prices suffering from inflation, the actual amount of food in the various packages is suffering from deflation. The standard 5lb bag of sugar from C&H is now 4lbs. Buy a pack of fun size candy bars and they rattle around in the packaging. Ounces and pounds are now missing from lots of different packaged foods. Any way it happens, the price per ounce is going up on just about everything.

We’ve also noticed a decline in serving sizes, particularly at ice-cream places. Smaller scoops for the same price . . .