Tag: food inflation

Consumers fret over food costs; here’s where they hurt most

Consumer confidence has been dropping in recent weeks as food prices remain high. Some foods, like eggs, remain extremely high because of a plague sweeping the country’s bird population.

USAToday recently reported on a study by WalletHub that showed people are paying the highest percentages of their incomes for food mostly in southern states.

Food prices remain stubbornly high. Here are the states feeling the most pain.

States where shoppers spend the highest percentage of income on groceries are:

  • Mississippi (2.64%) 
  • West Virginia (2.57%) 
  • Arkansas (2.49%) 
  • Kentucky (2.41%) 
  • Louisiana (2.39%) 
  • New Mexico (2.36%) 
  • Alabama (2.34%) 
  • South Carolina (2.27%) 
  • Tennessee (2.23%) 
  • Oklahoma (2.21%) 

“The top states also coincide with the states where the median income is the lowest in the country, said Chip Lupo, writer and analyst for WalletHub,” USAToday reports. U.S. food prices have risen a total of roughly 25% in the past five years, the newspaper reports.

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Food inflation is easing; smart shopping can help even more

These Covid shopping lines are gone, and food prices are coming down as a result.

Food prices are easing, albeit from a high rate of inflation last year, according to the recent report on the Consumer Price Index for food at home.

You can bring your costs down even more by always pre-planning shopping trips and taking advantage of sales.

This week, for example, I saved 55% of my purchase price during my weekly shopping trip to a local Jewel by using digital coupons and stocking up on sale items.

“On a year-over-year basis, the CPI for food at home is up 7.1%, which is elevated over the norm but down from the 11.3% rate in the opening month of 2023. Within the grocery sector, shoppers encountered lower prices across several categories: Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that four of the six major grocery store indexes posted decreases in April,” reports Progressive Grocer, an industry trade magazine.

“The CPI for dairy and related products fell the most (-0.7%) last month, while the index for fruits and vegetables went down by 0.5%, the price of meat, poultry, fish and eggs slipped 0.3% and nonalcoholic beverage prices saw a slight 0.1% downturn. The CPI for cereals and bakery and for “other” food at home both increased 0.2% in April,” PG reports.

So take heart, the worst of inflation is over. Be a smart shopper and drive it down even more.

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