Back in 2019, $100 worth of groceries may have lasted a week for a household of two. Today, that same $100 will probably only buy enough groceries to stretch for a couple of days.
In the last four years, food prices have increased a whopping 22%, and consumers are feeling the pinch.
Even though inflation has recently fallen below 3% for the first time since 2021, food prices remain stubbornly high, and are still predicted to increase. Some food companies such as General Mills are continuing to raise prices of their products 4% this year, with profits jumping to $670.1m. Kellogg’s raised the price of cereal by 12%.
It’s an issue that will take center stage in the upcoming presidential election: last week the Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, called for a ban on price-gouging.
Meanwhile, hunger is growing in the US: according to the US Department of Agriculture, 44.2 million people in the US lived in food-insecure households in 2022, up from 33.8 million in 2021.
Earlier this summer the Guardian asked readers across the US how they were experiencing grocery-store inflation – which foods give them the biggest sticker shock and how this has changed their shopping habits. Readers reported soaring prices for nearly all types of food – fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, cereal, milk, eggs, cheese, seafood, meat, particularly beef, packaged snacks, soft drinks and even pet food. Here, some of them share their strategies for coping with the ever-rising cost of food, from couponing, to cutting out meat to growing their own vegetables.
‘I am rediscovering peanut butter sandwiches’
I am less likely to pick up something spontaneously, and now I shop the reduced rack at the grocery store. I am rediscovering peanut butter sandwiches and do not buy cakes or cookies – it’s cheaper and more satisfying to make them from scratch.
I no longer buy red meat; funnily, we haven’t missed it much. Before cutting out red meat we would have grilled steak or stir fry or stew; now it’s completely beyond my purse. I shop by price, whatever is on sale and chicken and pork are often reasonable, but I would say even they are a once-weekly ingredient.
Produce has shot up, a 5lb bag of carrots has gone from $2.99 to $4.99. A loaf of bread is now $4.99. I used to consistently pay $2.99 before Covid and inflation. Now it’s summer, we eat lots of things from our garden and veggies grown by neighbors who are eager to share.
As I am over 65, I shop at a store that gives older people 10% off on Tuesdays. I use coupons but only buy what I need and normally buy. I am trying harder not to waste anything and often freeze leftovers.
Lisa, 66, semi-retired paralegal, Middletown, Maryland
‘We’ve planted a garden from heirloom seeds’
We’re trying to rely on more cheap vegan options for protein. We’re not buying as many processed foods, instead buying dried beans, rice, lentils in bulk bins and then just having to plan way ahead so that we can prepare food from these dried ingredients. Don’t be scared of dried beans, you can make so many yummy things and it’s so much less expensive. Plus, rice is an inexpensive way to fill up a kid’s never-ending stomach.
One of everyone’s favorite meals is a red lentil curry with rice and naan, which is also one of the least expensive meals to make when you’re using dried lentils and canned chickpeas. We also love doing lentil tacos and Spanish rice. I usually take around an hour at the grocery store but I have my system down pat! I always go to the same grocery store and a map of it exists in my head so my list is in order of the store. It has to be this way or it would take forever as I try to only shop once every two to three weeks, which makes it less likely I’ll buy something on a whim.
We’ve also planted a garden from heirloom seeds that should return each year to try to help with the high cost of produce. We’ve invested in chickens for eggs and to help keep the cost down for chicken feed, we give them any excess produce we can’t eat in time from the garden.
Cory Forsey, 32, with two school-aged children, director at a startup, Lehi, Utah
‘All the choices that I make are strictly down to budget’
Right now I shop for, cook for and feed seven. All the choices that I make are strictly down to budget. We purchase two gallons of milk a week at $3.39-$3.89. It used to be $1.89 a gallon. We now spend $30 a month or $1 a day on milk. This is how all grocery staples are: twice the price.
Food prices are a huge contribution to our stress and financial insecurity. Majority of the time, my husband and I only eat two meals a day. But I’m pregnant now and I don’t want to skip meals, so I’m trying to be really mindful of getting the nutritional value. The kids always have three. We never buy anything outside the staples unless it is “on sale” (AKA the price the product used to be) or clearance. We never buy name-brand or organic. So much of our income is used for food – we no longer buy new clothes, shoes or new things for us parents. We are in the most credit card debt of our lives.
I shop online, mostly Safeway, and search for the lowest price. For example, I select meat, then beef and filter the search result to organize by lowest price. During my pregnancy, I’ve been craving cherries all summer, but they’ve been $5 a pound at the cheapest. I just can’t spend that, even though they would be what I wanted to buy.
Every checkout I meticulously decipher the complex coded receipt and always find I have been overcharged (never undercharged) for items with a digital coupon. You do have to carefully read each coupon’s terms because sometimes they are tricky, like you have to buy a totally different product for a deal. And it lets grocery stores advertise that they are saving you money when most people are really just being charged more.
SR, 41, Colorado Springs, Colorado
‘I plan meals around the cheaper items’
Fresh produce has increased significantly in price, while quality has declined. I recently saw a watermelon with seeds selling for $16. While I’ve found some for less, I never imagined a price like that would happen.
I make use of sales, clearances and seasonal price reductions, planning meals around the cheaper items. The clearance rack goods aren’t necessarily low-quality, they are often items that just aren’t popular, and marked down before the expiration date.
It helps to be flexible in one’s diet, which applies to brand selections as well. Unless there is a definite difference in quality, I’ll buy whichever brand is less expensive. Sorry, MegaFoodBrand, I’m not loyal to any of you.
Reducing waste is a key component to keeping the grocery bills low: eat everything you buy, and preserve what you can by freezing, drying or canning to maximize the shelf life. Grow a few vegetables at home if you’re able. Some plants are low-care and prolific producers.
Wolfie, Detroit, Michigan
‘Night of a thousand leftovers’
We’ve been slowly cutting out meat, and I’d describe our diet as flexitarian. We’re also fans of eating leftovers; I make it fancy by calling it “night of a thousand leftovers”. Want pancakes with pasta? Aces, go for it.
I shop at different stores for different items, but thankfully they’re near each other: a Mexican grocery store for produce, Aldi for dairy and other staples, a restaurant supply store if I’m buying meat. I am fortunate to have a car to get around, so the trip will take me at least two hours, and that’s me shopping with surgical precision. Shopping around the holidays makes me apoplectic as it may double shopping times.
For all the talk of inflation going down, I’ve not seen it on staples. Bread, milk, cereal, cheese and meat are a killer. Often, stores will put things on sale for the holidays, but most of it is over-processed food like hotdogs, potato chips, soda. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good hotdog, but you can’t live on them. I’ve tried.
Tracie Bedell, 54, writer and caterer, Chicago, Illinois
‘I’ve almost completely quit buying things that aren’t good for me’
I probably spend two hours a week grocery shopping, that includes looking at websites and flyers that promote discounts. My Costco membership is valuable because I can’t buy the groceries I get there at similar pricing anywhere else. Processed foods with a lot of added sugar are expensive – but cheap to make and high-profit items, so I just don’t buy that stuff. With the bad stuff I’ve quit eating or drinking, I can afford the price increases I see on the healthy foods. I often find a type of meat that’s on sale, like chicken or pork, and I’ll get a couple pounds of that to use as the protein in a meal in my slow cooker and fill the rest of it with dried beans that were soaked overnight.
Bananas have remained steady or gone down in price. I would guess it’s because it’s perishable, but that has not been the case with avocados. Vexing because I like them and they don’t keep very long.
I’ve almost completely quit buying things that aren’t good for me. But I do buy stuff I shouldn’t eat when it’s discounted back to regular pricing “on sale”. Notably, ice-cream.
Tim, 71, semi-retired, San Diego, California
I see three types of grocery price increases: price increases based on product value, such as organic, no artificial coloring, no hydrogenated fats; inflation, such as wages and other costs of doing business; and corporate gouging. I am very loyal to the stores and companies that treat me fairly. But gouging-level price increases at my usual grocery store are so egregious, that company is no longer my friend.
Now, I spread my shopping around to three other grocery stores; two of them are within half a mile of each other, the third is 11 miles away. For non-food items such as dog food or over-the-counter medication medications and supplies, I sit at my computer and search the internet for the best deal. As for giving anything up? We continue to maintain our food and nutrition level, but we now rarely eat out at restaurants, and have even cut down on cherished coffee shop visits.
Vincent Frazzetta, 86, retired and living on social security, Santa Fe, New Mexico
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