DETROIT (WXYZ) — Inflation continues to impact metro Detroiters. The Consumer Price Index rose .4% in September, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
The BLS states the CPI for groceries rose .7% in September, and grocery costs rose 13% over the past year.
People are finding alternative ways to save money on meat. Saad Wholesale Meats in Detroit has been in business for 45 years. For longtime customers, going there is second nature. However, the rise in food prices has other customers seeing it as an alternative to save money on food.
"I love coming to this place," Cleveland Nelson said.
He wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to Saad's. As a retail customer, Nelson said a friend introduced him to the market three months ago to check out of the fish, goat, lamb, beef and chicken.
“You see all these wings? I get all these wings for $35. You cannot beat that. This is about a hundred wings — chicken. You can’t beat that nowhere," he said.
Nelson said he's avoided the meat section at traditional grocery stores because of rising costs from inflation. He also said the cost savings at Saad's allows him to put another $50 in his gas tank.
“The grocery store, they charge you about $200, $300 for these wings. I'm only paying $35 for these wings, and there's like a hundred and something wings in this. This will last me a lifetime," Nelson said.
Mohamed Saad, president of Wholesale Meats, told 7 Action News, "If you see yourself paying $5.99, sometimes you'll see it listed here at $2.99. So our pricing is way more than competitive."
He said he sees the trends when retail customers increase at his business and when his wholesale customers, like grocery stores, buy less from him.
Saad said buying in bulk is encouraged for retail customers and rewarded with cost savings.
"You'll see people walk in and buy meat for a month. Ya know, we get people that drive up from Tennessee, Ohio, Atlanta, people that drive in from New York because they're saving so much money. They're buying for a month to month and a half, and they're coming back," he said.
Saad said he's had to adjust to the price of gas, labor and meat but looks for the best deals to keep prices competitive.
Harry Guma says he's been coming to the store for 30 years.
"Oh, the price is reasonable here," he said.
Guma added, "Always less than the supermarket."
Nelson said, “This place is very economical when dealing with food because it has went up so much — food, gas, everything has gone up, rent. All this stuff has gone up since the pandemic started. So this place is very economical if you want to come here and shop.”
