General Mills, Kroger Appetizing

Currently, General Mills is paying out a dividend yielding 2.8% and has beat analysts' earnings estimates in three out of the past four quarters. Second-quarter revenue increased 8% over the previous year as consumers decided to forgo expensive dinners out and started to spend more on groceries.

During a downturn, pricey name-brand product sales sometimes decline as cost-effective private labels are scooped up, but General Mills CEO Ken Powell has said that, while the private-label market share has increased, it has not eaten into its sales.

Another beneficiary of the trend toward higher grocery bills will be grocery stores. Grocery giants such as Kroger (KR Quote) may become some of the only retailers to see an uptick in sales during these tough times as they have the most indispensable products, which actually are the low-cost alternative to restaurant and take-out meals.

Kroger runs various supermarkets, such as the flagship Kroger stores and Ralphs, in addition to warehouse clubs, convenience stores, multi-department stores (Fred Meyers) and other retail outlets. The company had sales of over $70.2 billion last year and is on pace to exceed that figure this year when the fiscal year ends in February.

Kroger has beaten analysts' earnings estimates for the past four quarters and is projected to post 10.4% earnings growth in 2010. The company also has close to a billion dollars in cash sitting on its balance sheet and pays a dividend currently yielding 1.4%. Return on equity has also remained strong, at 24.4%, as the company has a low equity base and has not seen a dip in sales that is leading to dismal returns in other sectors.

TheStreet.com Rating has Kroger currently rated as a "buy," and the stock has lost only 1.5% of its value this year.

With the combination of General Mills and Kroger, investors can double-dip in one of the only areas in the retail sector that will not run completely dry in the recession. People will always need to eat and these companies provide a plethora of food products to suit any taste.