DURHAM, NC — Rising grocery prices are making it harder for a Durham entrepreneur to keep serving seniors the scratch cooked meals she wants to prepare. Angela McLean, who once owned Backyard Barbecue in Durham, has shifted into preparing food for older residents after the economic downturn forced her restaurant to close.
On Tuesday, she was cooking fish, collard greens and yams for 37 seniors. McLean said the bigger challenge is no longer the work in the kitchen, but the cost of the ingredients needed to fill the plates.
She said the price increases have been especially noticeable when buying staples that should be affordable. For McLean, the question is not whether food costs matter, but how far they can keep stretching before the numbers no longer work.
McLean says basic ingredients are getting much harder to budget for
McLean said she tries to make meals from scratch, but that approach has become more expensive as grocery bills rise. She singled out potatoes as one example, saying the price has moved up enough to change how she thinks about shopping…