The 74-year-old Madison woman was stocking up because she and her husband had just returned to Madison after spending the winter in Arizona.

Miller normally spends around $100 during her first trip to the store after returning from the desert Southwest. But last week at the Sentry store at the Hilldale Shopping Center, her bill totaled around $140.

"I'm out of everything," Miller said.

The grocery bill is taking a bigger bite out of the weekly budget for grocery shoppers throughout the country.

Coupled with record high gas prices, consumers are directly feeling the results of a weakened dollar, an increased demand for food worldwide and the relatively recent shift of using corn to make fuel.

And because of those high gas prices, it not only costs more to fill up the gas tank but also the pantry, meaning some consumers are taking small but effective steps to reduce their grocery bill, said Kyle Stiegert, associate professor of agricultural and applied economics at UW-Madison.

Making choices

"People are making choices," said Stiegert, director of the Food Systems Research Group, which conducts research on prices and policies in the U.S. and global food industries. "There's a lot of things consumers do when faced with price shock."

Some may switch to a less-expensive grocery store. Others may stick with their favorite store but buy more items when they are on sale and cut back on items, at least for that week, which are not on special.

Those same shoppers also may be eating out less, riding their bike to work and rethinking vacations as more of their money becomes less discretionary.

"I haven't cut back yet, but (not eating out) would be a logical step for people who want to cut back," said Miller, who has seen her favorite brand of yogurt go from 59 cents to 75 cents a container. "I'd hate to go back to graduate school days, but we're fortunate we don't have to."

Market Basket survey

The most recent Market Basket food survey from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation showed that the bill for 20 items surveyed in 26 communities totaled $53.27. In 2007, the food, which included staples like ground beef, chicken breasts, milk and eggs, totaled $47.85. In 2004, the bill came to $44.76.

Where you shop also is key in saving money.

A 2005 study by the Food Systems Research Group, which Stiegert heads, found a 25 percent difference between the highest-priced and lowest-priced grocery store in Madison.

"I was shocked," Stiegert said of the results. "If you're a person who is on the margins, these price changes are going to cause them to go to Woodman's or Wal-Mart."

The Madison area has no shortage of grocery stores, which lessens the blow to consumers from rising prices, experts say. And more stores are on the way.

In the last year Target in Fitchburg and Wal-Mart in Monona both opened combination general merchandise and full grocery stores. Janesville-based Woodman's, which has two stores in Madison, has plans to build a 225,000-square-foot store in Sun Prairie. Later this year, Costco will open a 153,000-square-foot warehouse store in Middleton.

Stretching food dollars

There are other ways to stretch food dollars, according to a guide from the UW Cooperative Extension Family Living program. Convenience foods like pancake and cake mixes, frozen juice concentrate and canned spaghetti sauces, soups, fruits and vegetables can save shoppers money. The guide recommends staying away from more expensive foods like seasoned rice mix, some frozen dinners and salad dressing.

Other ideas include planning meals and snacks for several days, knowing what food is already in your home, watching for weekly specials, sticking to a grocery list and not shopping when you're hungry.

Kristin Westgard, 39, is married with two children, ages 3 and 6.

Her family is eating out less and she's trying to plan more when she shops. She's also venturing more to discount retailers like Target and Wal-Mart.

Westgard, who was in Madison recently visiting her parents, said she started noticing higher food prices last fall at the stores near her home in Wichita, Kan., which has fewer grocery options than Madison, she said.

"I can tell I'm certainly spending more each week," Westgard said.