Americans are changing their grocery shopping routines due to the largest price jump in 50 years. The cost of buying food to eat at home has increased by 33% in U.S. cities since the beginning of 2019, according to government figures.

Local Impact

In Texas, residents are feeling the effects of rising grocery prices. Ada Torres, a 60-year-old from Cleveland, Texas, has had to adjust her shopping habits to make ends meet. "Prices are sky-high. One hundred dollars’ worth of groceries these days is nothing. Maybe you can bring home seven family-size items, if you manage to find a good deal," she said.

Torres has started swapping name-brand products for cheaper alternatives, such as Walmart’s Great Value range. She has also had to cut back on meat, with chicken and cold cuts becoming the family’s main source of animal protein.

National Trend

The historic increase in grocery prices is attributed to various factors, including the coronavirus pandemic, droughts, hurricanes, and diseases like bird flu. Tariffs have also raised prices on foreign products, while Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine has disrupted oil and fertilizer supplies.

According to Jared Bernstein, a senior policy fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy, Americans are better equipped to handle the higher prices, but they still feel the strain. "People have a well-honed sense of those prices, just as much as gas and maybe more so," he said.

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.