Latasha Warner is a typical American woman who is doing everything she can to reduce her food purchasing costs. She no longer dines out at restaurants, avoids buying brand-name products, and only buys discounted meat products. She also shops at larger, more affordable chain stores in the suburbs. Warner mentioned that even though she spends $200 on groceries at a time, it is still not enough to sustain her, her husband, and their two children for a week.
Living in Kentucky, Warner works a job where she earns $17.54 per hour. In this era of high inflation, her income is not enough to meet basic living expenses. She mentioned that about half of her salary goes towards buying food, leaving her unable to afford other expenses, from car repairs to vacations.
According to a report from The USA Today, the White House mentioned that since reaching a peak in 2022, food prices have significantly cooled off. Coupled with rising wages and falling prices in some categories of goods, this indicates that the impact of food inflation on Americans will gradually diminish.
Despite the moderation in price increases, surveys show that consumers are still struggling to adapt to today’s high food prices.
Joanne Hsu, director of consumer surveys at the University of Michigan, said, “Consumers are still very concerned about high prices, with a significant proportion continuing to tell us that high prices are eroding their quality of life.” “High prices will continue to affect many people’s lives.”
Data from the Department of Labor shows that food prices rose by 1% from May 2023 to May 2024, lower than the 5.8% increase in the previous 12 months.
The data from May also indicates that over the past year, wages grew by 4.1%, exceeding the rate of inflation. The White House report stated that on average, workers need about 3.6 hours of work to purchase groceries for a week, the same as in 2019.
There is more good news for consumers as federal data shows that some food prices are decreasing. For example, apple prices have dropped by over 13% from the same period last year, while ham prices decreased by 6%. The White House also noted that some retailers, including Aldi, Target, and Walmart, are significantly lowering prices, though the latest actual data does not reflect this.
Dave Rinaldo, the President of Aldi grocery chain stores in the U.S., stated in a recent release, “While more and more experts warn that high inflation will persist, we have now cut prices further for the second consecutive year on already low prices.”
Bridget Keener, a 36-year-old food-focused influencer, has been closely monitoring food prices and observed a reduction in prices over the past few months.
Since 2017, Keener’s goal has been to feed her family of four for about $300 or less per month and save any leftover money for the next month’s shopping. Nearly 90,000 people in her Facebook group “Frantic Frugal Mom” follow Keener for food and meal planning tips.
Keener employs strategies such as flexible substitution, shopping at multiple stores, timing shopping trips to find discounted items, promptly freezing purchased foods to reduce potential waste, and implementing a “reverse meal planning” approach where she shops for deals and plans meals accordingly.
Compared to 2019, food prices have risen by approximately 25%, and the recent high inflation continues to be fresh in the minds of many consumers.
Those who recall prices before the pandemic are the most frustrated, according to Hsu. “Individuals who reference prices from one or two years ago often tell us, ‘Things aren’t as bad as they used to be, but they’re still tough.'”
Not everyone’s wage growth can keep up with inflation, and low-income Americans are often more impacted by rising food prices. Data from the U.S. Department of Labor in 2022 showed that food expenses accounted for 11% of the expenditures of the bottom fifth of income distribution, compared to 8% for the average American.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, rising prices have heavily and comprehensively affected consumers across the board, with increased housing costs, car expenses, and insurance costs. When asked which expense increased the most over the past year, 56% of consumers in a survey conducted by Purdue University’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability pointed to food, even though official government data does not reflect the same.
Joseph Balagtas, an agricultural economics professor at Purdue University in Indiana, mentioned that although expenses such as insurance, housing, and child care have increased at a faster rate, consumers tend to notice food price hikes more because food is a frequently purchased item.
Results from the University of Michigan Consumer Survey indicate that consumers have noticed a slight easing of inflation since 2022 but still feel frustrated by high prices. A preliminary report from the research center in June showed that 47% of consumers mentioned high prices as a reason for their poor financial condition, higher than the peak of 38% from January to April.
“Many consumers tell us that the situation is tough, especially because prices continue to stay high,” Hsu stated. “I think this is understandable. Many things remain quite expensive for consumers, and the share of their monthly budget that goes towards these expenses is higher than before.”
Warner expressed that she is glad to see a slowdown in food price increases but feels it is too little, too late. “It’s still not enough unless prices start coming down,” she said. “The cost of living has become too high.”