Cost Of Groceries Skyrocketing

Egg and meat prices are leading the upswing

By Marilyn Nelson on May 13, 2020
(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

If you thought your groceries are costing more, you’re right. Prices surged last month. As if it wasn’t bad enough trying to find sanitizers and paper products, now we’re getting hit in the wallet trying to feed our families.

As millions of people are losing their jobs grocery prices are surging. Staples like eggs, meat, bread and cereal saw their biggest one-month jump in nearly 50 years, since 1974.

In April we paid 4.3% more for meats, poultry, fish, 1.5% more for fruits and vegetables, and 2.9% more for cereals and bakery products, according to the Labor Department. Eggs saw the biggest spike – up 16%. 

As we cleaned out shelves with our hording and panic buying, we pushed prices higher. Due to the stay-at-home order most of us started cooking at home. That put pressure on food producers and farmers who weren’t able to keep up with the demands of shifting deliveries from restaurants to grocery stores, CNN reported.

It certainly didn’t help when meat processing plants began to close down as employees caught the coronavirus.

Grocery stores seem to be the only industry increasing their prices. Most industries saw declines in April.

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