Bradley Rickard

Professor in Applied Economics and Management

“Across the grocery store aisles, we have seen a rise in food prices that will lead to a significant increase in the cost of ingredients for our upcoming Thanksgiving meal. The latest data shows that prices for foods sold in grocery stores have increased 13% on average between September 2021 and September 2022.

“In the past year, meat prices overall rose 7.7%, and poultry costs – including turkey – have increased by 17.2%. Poultry costs have faced further pressure given their input costs and, in part, due to the outbreak of avian flu in the United States in 2022. In grocery stores, dairy prices have increased 15.9%, bread and bakery prices are up 16.2%, egg prices rose by 30.5%, fats and oils increased by 21.6%, and fruits and vegetables rose by 10.4%.

“Grocery store prices began to rise during the pandemic and food inflation has continued due to surges in fuel costs and fertilizer costs, plus increases in feed costs. In addition, a decrease in the labor supply has put additional upward pressure on food prices especially for those crops that are labor-intensive.”