Food manufacturers, retailers, and other entitles here that provide food say dramatically rising costs are causing them to scramble to manage the increases and stay afloat until they get some relief.

Dan Nagy, a partner in Bar NZ Inc., a Spokane concern that operates a dozen Wendy's restaurants here and in Coeur d'Alene, says that company's food costs have increased 9 percent in a year.

This year, the commodity prices have skyrocketed on meat, poultry, bacon, as well as dairy products," Nagy says. He says Wendy's corporate headquarters predicts another 9 percent increase yet this year on some commodities, such as chicken.

The escalating prices of dairy products, soybeans, sugar, and wheat directly affect most products found on grocery store shelves, says Jeff Philipps, president and CEO of Rosauers Supermarkets Inc., which has 21 stores in the region.

Glenn Ward, president of BumbleBar LLC, which manufactures gluten- free snack bars at its Spokane Valley plant, says, "It's affecting us in a huge, profound way."

Ward says the cost of two of the company's main ingredients - sesame seed and flaxseed - has more than doubled in the last four months.

Though BumbleBar's sales have grown 17 percent this year, Ward expects profits to be flat in 2008 despite having hiked its prices twice this year because of increased commodities prices and overhead.

Nagy says that though Wendy's outlets here haven't seen a huge decrease in business, some customers who used to eat at the chain's fast-food restaurants three times a week now come in only twice a week and brown bag it the rest of the time. Bar NZ's Coeur d'Alene- area stores, which get more of their traffic from tourists, have suffered bigger sales declines as rising gas prices have kept people closer to home.

"We've seen a decided downturn in those areas," Nagy says.

Rosauers' Philipps says that what conusmers buy is changing as they begin to feel the crunch.

"We've seen a number of changes in the marketplace," Philipps says. "Cereal is probably the prime one where we've seen companies reduce the size of packaging."

Still, Philipps says, breakfast cereal sales haven't suffered because they're still a good value per serving.

"With the economy the way it is, I don't care what income level you live at, people are looking for value," he says.

Donations to charities such as Second Harvest Food Bank of the Inland Northwest are dropping, says Jason Clark, executive director of Second Harvest's Spokane operation, even as consumers, feeling the pinch of high grocery and gas bills, need help more. He says rising costs have forced food producers to improve their processes to reduce waste, cutting down dramatically on donations to food banks of excess items such as cereal.

"I can remember in the mid-90s we were turning down truckloads of cereal," Clark says.