Linda Colsten (right) and her daughter Tammie Lampton shop Wednesday at the Dollar General on East Jackson Street. (Kurt Hostetler / The Star Press)
Linda Colsten (right) and her daughter Tammie Lampton shop Wednesday at the Dollar General on East Jackson Street. (Kurt Hostetler / The Star Press)

By Keith  Roysdon, Star Press

kroysdon@muncie.gannett.com

MUNCIE -- With sons Dennis and Keaton in tow, Dejai Trosper scoured the shelves of the Aldi grocery store on McGalliard Road on a recent Saturday.

Trosper filled her cart with food and household items from the grocery discount store and then reviewed her cash register receipt in the parking lot.

"I spent $73, but that will get us through two weeks," said Trosper, who works at Eaton EMTs and also has a younger son, Corbin, at home.

Trosper said she shops at Aldi "religiously. Every week."

Although gas prices have moderated in recent weeks, a year of ever-escalating costs -- for gas, for food, for almost everything -- has shoppers like Trosper increasingly looking for grocery bargains. According to the Consumer Price Index, the cost of food eaten at home rose more than 8 percent in the past year.

"I completely boycotted other stores," said Trosper, who said she stopped shopping at Marsh and even renowned discounter Walmart. "They're too expensive."

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