and innumerable small cafes, espresso stands and gourmet roasters, now boasts the country's only coffee-selling religious order.

The tiny All-Merciful Saviour Russian Orthodox Monastery on bucolic Vashon Island, a 30-minute ferry ride from Seattle, sells four blends, including Abbot's Choice and Byzantium, a finely ground, Greek-style coffee.

Business has been booming since stories about the monks' coffee began appearing in newspapers several months ago.

"Sales went up 800 percent,'' said Father Paul, one of two monks living in the former farmhouse near the southern tip of the island that serves as the order's monastery.

Religious orders have a history of producing fine food and drink, from beer and cheese in Europe to fudge and fruitcake in Oregon, but the Vashon Island monks are believed to be the only ones in the United States taking advantage of the gourmet coffee craze.

With sales of less than 10,000 lb a year at about $11 a pound, Monastery Blend Coffees is unlikely to challenge Starbucks in the near future.

Father Tryphon, superior of the monastery, said he hoped proceeds would allow the order to complete a new monastery on land donated by actor John Ratzenberger, formerly of the TV comedy show "Cheers.'' "We have no expectations,'' said Father Tryphon, who learned to appreciate coffee during long hours in the coffee houses of Berkeley while he studied for degrees in English literature and psychology at the University of California.

"It all depends on how fast we sell coffee.'' The monks do not actually roast the coffee but obtain it under contract from Caffe Appassionato Inc., a small Seattle-based chain with 17 coffee shops of its own.

The beans are packed in distinctive half-pound gold bags showing a monk sipping a cup of coffee and distributed mostly by mail-order direct from the monastery.

*** A nickel here, a dime there. Sometimes a whole dollar. Americans are watching their grocery bills creep upward because of storms and drought in the nation's farm regions.

Still, smart shoppers can often find sales and specials on some of the very items that have been going up in price. Moreover, supermarkets say the increases are being offset by falling prices on other products.

A spot check by The Associated Press in several big US cities found prices inching upward between late June and early August on bread, pasta and meat.

These increases come on top of a surge over the past year.

But the survey also found stores putting meat, cereal and bread on sale, in the expectation of making up the discounts from other items.

"It seems like everything you buy is too high,'' said Ann Thoren, shopping at Aldi Foods in Des Moines, Iowa. But she added: "I usually go ahead and buy it anyway.'' The government and many economists are warning that food prices will continue to rise into next year. The failure of the winter wheat crop in parts of the Midwest is expected to push prices for bread and pasta higher -- according to some estimates, as much as eight percent.

Consumers are coping with the increases by adjusting their shopping lists.

"I always look at the ads before I go to the store. I find out what is on sale and tune my menu to what's on sale. If chicken is on sale, I'll cook chicken,'' said Celeste Nip, a shopper in Honolulu.