Four Ways The Pandemic Impacted Food Prices

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic affected grocery prices more than nearly any other category of consumer spending.

The consumer price index (CPI) for food at home increased 2.7% in April, the largest monthly jump since February 1974. Grocery prices were up 5.6% between June 2019 and June 2020, several times the average food price inflation rate Americans have come to expect in recent decades. The increases are more dramatic for some individual food items, with beef and veal prices up 25% year-over-year, egg prices up 12%, potato prices up 13% and tomato prices up 8%.

“Food prices are always top of mind for a lot of people,” said Andy Herron, vice president of tax, trade, sustainability and policy development at FMI. “We all have that older relative who talks about a time when ground beef was 5¢ a pound … What we’re going through right now is a little bit different.”

The FMI launched a digital platform exploring the price increases. The website examines factors influencing food prices and the impact of the COVID-19 shock to the supply chain.