There are a number of different reasons that food prices in the U.S. remain high.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) food prices are expected to increase by 2.2% in 2025.
This year's predicted increase is similar to the 2.3% increase consumers saw in 2024, but a drop from 2023 which saw an increase of 5.8%, according to the USDA.
“Over the last few years, that amount of money that has been pumped into the economy has gone up,” said University of New Haven Associate Professor of Economics and Business Analytics Patrick Gourley. “Then people have additional money, and they spend it, and that results in higher prices.”
CT Food Association President Wayne Pesce says several factors play a role in the increase of food, including the bird flu outbreak, inflation and natural disasters.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
“There’s a confluence of events that are driving the cost of food higher,” Pesce said. “That’s in restaurants and grocery stores.”
Shoppers saw an 8.4% increase in retail egg prices according to the USDA. This comes after a nationwide outbreak of the bird flu in poultry and dairy cows, according to the CDC.
“Fortunately for consumers, that will work itself out once the flocks come back,” said Pesce.
Local
Potential tariffs could also have an impact on food prices as the Trump administration weighs how to implement its campaign promise putting tariffs on imported goods.
“If we’re talking about across the board a set of tariffs on all goods being imported to the U.S. from any country, then we would expect to see a kind of significant rise in all food prices,” said Gourley.
