Surging grocery prices have settled down, but shoppers are still adjusting

Grocery price growth, once the scourge of the post-pandemic inflation surge, has finally settled down.

On Wednesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that food-at-home prices increased 1.1% year-on-year — the ninth-straight month of sub-2% increases.

For the average consumer, the new price levels can take years to adjust to, economists say. Between January 2021 and December 2022, grocery prices shot up more than 20%.

As of July, consumers pay about $0.80 more for a gallon of milk (about $4 total), though dairy prices were already increasing before the pandemic hit. Likewise, a loaf of wheat bread is now $0.80 more to about $2.69 and a pound of ground beef is up $1.62 to $5.50.

One outlier is eggs. The cost of a dozen — though volatile thanks to avian flu — has doubled to more than $3.

Still, between January 2023 and July 2024, average grocery prices have only increased a cumulative 1.4%.