Everything costs more at the grocery store. How have you adjusted?
Groceries that used to cost Megan Rollins $150 to $175 a week for her family of five now cost $300. That price gets her three meals worth of meat, bananas and strawberries, a case of water, bread. Snacks for school and once the kids are back home, some vegetables and essential household items.
“I don’t just buy to buy,” the Fort Mill mom said. “I get what is needed for the week.”
The increased cost of groceries hits home for Rollins, and not just at the table.
“I’m having to sacrifice taking my kids to do fun activities as a family to make sure I have enough money for food,” she said. “I have had to limit the amount of snacks or food in general we have in the house to make sure there is enough for meals. I’m worried that if costs continue to rise I will have to make a choice to pay a bill or feed my family.”
Rollins isn’t alone. After a recent Facebook post on the challenge of affording groceries, friends commented with similar experiences. One compared grocery costs to a mortgage, another stated grocery bills meant asking for extra hours at work. Those friends aren’t imagining higher costs at the grocery store.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture tracks food prices for consumers and producers, from groceries to restaurant foods. Food price outlook data published last month forecast groceries will be up 10 to 11% this year compared to last. For comparison, the historical 20-year average increase is 2%. The 2023 forecast is another increase of 2-3%.
Eggs could be up more than 25% this year compared to last, according to the forecast. Fats and oils could be up 17.5%, poultry up to 15.5% and other meats up to 14%. A new forecast is expected from the USDA on Friday.
The data also shows overall grocery prices increased 3.5% in each of the past two years.
Historic grocery prices
While the rate of grocery price increases may seem high, it’s far from unprecedented. In 1974 prices rose 14.9%, a figure that hasn’t been approached since. From 1974 to 1981, increases were 5.9% or higher all but one year and three times topped 10%. From 1987 to 1990, and in five years since, the increase rate has been higher than it was the past two years.
Yet overall grocery prices are higher because only twice since at least 1974 have costs decreased in a given year. Priced dropped 1.3% in 2016 and .2% in 2017. The average annual increase for all other years in that span is 3.7%.
Items with the largest increases last year come from the same section of most grocery stores. Beef and veal went up 9.3% (after a 9.6% increase the prior year), followed by pork (8.6%), meats (7.7%) and poultry and fish (6.8%). The smallest increases last year came with fresh vegetables (1.1%), dairy (1.4%) and cereals or bakery products (2.3%).
Compounding price increases are continued higher costs for food at restaurants. Food outside the home has increased in price every year since at least 1974. The increase has been above 3% each of the last three years. Last year’s 4.5% increase is the highest since 1990.
Tell us your story
The Herald wants to know what impact food costs have on local families. Click on the image above to tell us what steps you’ve taken — eating out less? buying new foods? — in response to higher prices. Click on the image below to share your story. What are you seeing, or doing differently, that isn’t on our list? What concerns do you have?
For Rollins, the foreseeable strategy is to plan out meals for the week so grocery store trips are just for what’s needed. It’s eating leftovers to help stretch food and limit costs. It’s limited eating out, since those meals are expensive too.
It’s also, in part, hoping price increased don’t continue the way they recently have.
“If the increase of goods trend continues I will be paying more for groceries than the mortgage of my house,” Rollins said.
This story was originally published September 22, 2022 at 12:41 PM.
