SACRAMENTO, Calif. – For Pri Jagait, her fruit and vegetable plants are more than just the natural beauty surrounding her Sacramento home.

“We save thousands every year,” Jagait said. “(With) natural mosquito repellents (from lemongrass cultivation), organic zucchini, tomatoes, onions, apples and pomegranates.”

The mother of one said the thousands she saves at the grocery store each year helps her immensely and that she is not alone.

Jagait started a Facebook group where people can exchange and buy produce grown in their own gardens. People say that growing their own produce helps them save on monthly expenses.

Near Jagait in downtown Sacramento, food distributions like the one run by Mae McNeil of Repairing The Breach are taking place. Many people from all walks of life are suffering from supermarket price shock, according to McNeil.

“We get a lot of new families every week,” McNeil said. “Two hundred to 250 people come through the gates (every Friday). And if you count their family members, it’s maybe 350 to 400 people.”

The latest survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that overall food prices rose 2.2 percent in July compared to the previous year.

Inflation has increased significantly since its peak two years ago, but surveys show that people do not care about inflation figures.

Rather, it is a question of whether they can afford their food now, says Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).

“In one of our recent surveys, we asked people what they were concerned about regarding the economy,” said Baldassare, PPIC’s poll director. “56 percent said they were personally very concerned about the prices of food and consumer goods.”

In comparison, according to Baldassare, only 35 percent are worried about whether they will find a job.

The economy is the most important issue for voters in this election cycle, Baldassare said, and people don’t feel good about it.

“When we ask people about their personal finances, only 16% say they feel they are better off now than they were a year ago,” Baldassare said.

Jagait says she can’t stop thinking about most of the expenses and hopes to grow more soon.

“Our goal is to have a homestead on a large piece of land,” she said.

Until then, she will continue to grow what she can, Jagait said, and may trade with others to save costs.