Mine is a very rough calculation - not at all precise. I add up the total of all I spent on groceries and paper goods for the span (usually about 12 weeks), divide by the number of weeks to get average spend per week. Then divide that by 42 (7 days x 3 meals x 2 people) to give average cost per person per meal. I figure that the groceries used up from a prior span are offset by ones I bought this span that are still in the pantry or freezer. I don’t bother to subtract meals eaten out from that “42” meals in a week number. When we’ve been on vacation for 5 or more days with all meals eaten out, that week just doesn’t get counted in the average spend-per-week calculation.
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If I take everything we spent on groceries (including alcohol and pet supplies) for the first quarter of the year, and divide by 13 weeks, I come up with $232 per week for the two of us (plus cat). We typically don’t eat out, so this is for all our food, drink, and household cleaning requirements.
In hindsight and considering we eat very well, not as bad as I thought. OTOH, about twice as much as we spent 10 years ago. I attribute about half the increase to inflation, and the other half to greater attention to quality and convenience (despite the reduced appetite which comes with aging).
Asterik: gardening supplies, which result in a large part of our produce each year, are not included. Gardening (despite all the hype) is not necessarily a money-saver. 
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We’re are eating better at home. I’m spending more on cuts we like more, and I’m sometimes spending more to get boneless thighs or boneless lamb. I’ve been buying more types of fresh fruit year-round, but spending less on processed foods like chips and crackers.
We’re also eating out a lot less, getting takeout less, and eating less frozen convenience meals.
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We lived in the city and were able to retire at age 56, despite the fact we were clueless spenders well into our mid-40’s while working mid-level professional jobs. I attribute a large part of that to the fact that once we woke to the idea of financial independence, we brown-bagged all our lunches for a decade+ (no take-out), and learned to cook all our meals at home and from scratch. We banked the savings. Now, in our mid-sixties, we are in relatively great health, eat well, exercise daily, and sleep soundly at night with few worries. 
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I was reminded of this thread when I made gyros last night for my wife and I and my daughter and son-in-law, because I was wondering how much cheaper they were compared to the last one I got out ($14, although it included a tiny side salad).
From a food cost standpoint I think I came under $2.50 per sandwich (all components made at home), and we only used up about 2 pounds of the meat, so I’ve got almost a pound of it leftover.
I need to get back on Mastercard and see what I’m spending now that I’m mostly only cooking for 2…
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What government policies should cause these price increases - sometimes/often I don’t understand how some/many people “connect” issues
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Yeah, this is the rub. Those who are curious enough to ask and take the time to learn and understand this ecosystem will get it, but there are less and less of those minds (or so it seems). It’s directly correlated to our current political climate. The only recent policies I can think of that would have directly impacted consumer goods are tariffs on raw materials that impact the cost of manufacturing and production, or restrictions on the labor market. We don’t acknowledge in this country how much of our economy is impacted by immigrants - legal or otherwise. Trying not to derail this into a political topic, so I’ll leave it at that.
I used to go to the grocery store every week, and I had lighter or heavier weeks to restock on veggies and herbs, etc. I would also pick up snacks that caught my eye. This didn’t help my overcrowded fridge, but I enjoyed having fresh produce readily on hand. I’m now going to the grocery store closer to every 2 weeks on average, and I’ve even had a few 3 week spells with 1 trip. To be fair, since I work not far from a Trader Joe’s, if I needed an onion or a lemon, I would pop in to buy one during my lunch break. I don’t pre-buy a week’s worth of what I need for cooking regularly anymore. It does force me to use everything I have which is a good thing.
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Isn’t the freshness/quality of the produce a problem if you only go every 2-3 weeks to the supermarket ? I feel that the taste of many vegetables/fruits starts to suffer after a short period even in the fridge
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You may find this Harvard Business Review article helpful. It highlights a few government policies that contribute to inflation. Tops for my list would be restrictions that limit the supply of oil/gasoline which is a component of every aspect of food growing, goods production and transportation. And over-supply of money. For individuals that came from 2 too many stimulus packages, extending unemployment benefits too long, suspending student loan repayments too long, folks staying home so they had extra money not spent on vacations or commuting. And government’s deficit spending/printing money.
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Not sure if I agree with your assessments on the government policies which impact food prices currently - in today’s more and more interconnected world which is strongly driven by large corporations (much more than governments) the impact (and possibilities) of most government policies are actually quite limited.
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We’ll agree to disagree on that.
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@honkman It can be, so I eat the last greens first, and try to mix it up more with veggies that last longer (cauliflower, carrots, etc). It’s definitely not quite as good as using them right away after buying them.
For me it’s a little deflating to hear that people think people having more money is causing inflation, therefore we must be less helpful. These are all short term adjustments, so there are indeed short term impacts to pricing. The problem is that prices have never fallen back when inflation corrects itself, or as benefits run out, so why is that? It’s an opportunistic company who knows the consumers don’t remember that’s what they blamed price hikes on.
If all the wage and benefit hikes contributes to price hikes, do we all agree then as workers to stop asking for raises? This should take that excuse away and companies can stop raising prices, and it would make my job in HR a lot easier.
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