cooking one or two portions at home using quality ingredients from stores in SF is literally as pricey as eating out nowadays.

doesn't surprise me that people are trying to get their dollars to stretch further by buying in bulk, planning ahead more consciously, etc.

Every corner of your life where you think you are safe, stable, and able to save will be found and min/maxed for ultimate profits.

Honestly, it's always been that way for a lot of things. Ten years ago I remember trying to make the ultimate home pizza, spent over $30 in ingredients and realized it's cheaper to buy out. Same with hamburgers - unless you can use all of the ingredients to make 5 or 6.

Restaurants have always been rather low margin, and they're buying ingredients a heckofa lot cheaper than a single shopper can.