BY NIK POPLI
GOOD QUESTION
BRIDGETTE MOORE, A 40-YEAR-OLD MOTHER OF FIVE from Lake Park, Ga., has noticed that her family’s grocery bill is much higher these days—way over her $200 weekly budget. To keep her finances under control, she’s had to buy less and get more selective in her shopping for family meals. “I haven’t had to work since 2009, and now with five kids, it is becoming more and more difficult to afford basic necessities,” she says. “I didn’t expect to be in this situation, and it is a struggle to make ends meet.”
Although overall inflation is starting to cool, shoppers like Moore haven’t seen much relief. Grocery prices were up 11.8% in December compared with those a year earlier. Grocery inflation declined from November to December, but prices have been rising sharply since early 2021. Nearly every food group costs more than it did a year ago: grade A eggs are up 138%; margarine, up 43.8%; butter sticks, up 38.5%; all-purpose flour, up 34.5%; and spaghetti and macaroni up 31.3%, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data.
Many shoppers who TIME spoke with are struggling to keep up and asking when it will end. Their stories paint a picture of the trade-offs and difficult decisions families across the nation are facing to afford everyday pantry items. For many, the frustration is starting to boil over. “I am not happy with the state of the U.S. economy right now,” says Moore. “I am worried about how I will provide for my family and it is difficult to see a way out. I hope that it will get better but with the current economic state, it is hard to say. We shouldn’t be struggling at this stage in life and we were not before.”
The most noticeable price increase for most people is in eggs. A dozen grade A eggs cost, on average, $4.25 in December—making it the grocery staple with the largest year-over-year price increase. Cage-free or organic egg prices are far higher still. This is largely attributed to the ongoing avian bird flu epidemic, by which nearly 58 million birds had been infected as of Jan. 6—the deadliest outbreak in U.S. history. Chicken-meat prices have increased nearly 11% in the past year for the same reason. “This is the largest animal emergency that [U.S. Department of Agriculture] has ever faced in this countr
