Recent economic news has been mostly positive: low unemployment, high stock market, robust GDP, and a steady decrease of inflation. This should be great news for families, but many are not feeling the positive vibes of the economy. One of the reasons for this seeming contradiction: Grocery Bills.

Frustrating Food Prices

An Axios survey found that while economists agree that high inflation has been mostly eliminated, Americans are furious about inflation. It found that this paradox exists because food prices are still stubbornly high. 72% of respondents said that groceries are where they feel most affected by inflation. The price of food has gone up by more than than a quarter in a relatively short time. While the rate of inflation has steadily declined, the actual prices of food has remained high.

The Washington Post examined why food prices still remain high. They found that “grocery prices remain elevated due to a mixture of labor shortages tied to the pandemic, ongoing supply chain disruptions, droughts, avian flu and other factors far beyond the [Biden] administration’s control. Robust consumer demand has also fueled a shift to more expensive groceries, and consolidation in the industry gives large chains the ability to keep prices high, economic policy experts say.”

Combatting Inflation

The Biden administration has aimed to combat high grocery prices by targeting issues they believe are caused by corporations looking to profit from the unusual circumstances.

“There are still too many corporations in America ripping people off: price gouging, junk fees, greedflation, shrinkflation,” Mr. Biden said last week in South Carolina. 

Data for Progress found that Americans are open to this approach. Voters were asked to assign blame for high grocery prices — and corporate price gouging rises to the top. 46% of voters place “a great deal” of blame on “corporate food manufacturers raising prices to maximize profits”, and 44% blamed “food manufacturers like PepsiCo, FritoLay, and General Mills raising prices to maximize profits.”

A Vox news report suggested that putting pressure on large grocery retailers could help bring food prices down. They hypothesize that the biggest supermarkets in the nation — Walmart, Kroger, Costco, and Publix — could follow the lead of a major European grocery chain, Carrefour, and boycott high food prices. This move, could, in theory force food manufacturers to cut their costs, passing those savings on to consumers.

Relief in 2024? Maybe

For now, though, families should expect inflation to continue cooling, with food prices decreasing slightly, but most likely not returning to pre pandemic levels. Nerd Wallet does give some positive projections that grocery prices could fall slightly, according to the USDA. They advise that families plan to eat at home more often in 2024 as the price of eating out is projected to increase at a rate of 5.2%.