Chew on this: U.S. food prices are still up 19% since 2022
Although inflation has cooled markedly since U.S. prices surged during the pandemic, high food costs continue to give consumers a stomachache.
Food prices, which outpaced overall inflation for much of last year, rose in December at an annual rate of 3.1%. That remains significantly above the 2.7% for all goods, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data. On a monthly basis, food prices rose 0.7% last month — the largest jump since September 2022.
"December's CPI report reinforces that price pressure is edging higher across key consumer product categories that matter most to consumers," Rob Holston, EY Global and Americas consumer products leader, said in a report.
CPI tracks the rate at which prices rise over time. But consumers' perception of food costs is more likely to be influenced by the prices they see on the store shelves. People pay for groceries on a more regular basis than other expenses, with a trip to the supermarket a frequent reminder that food is pricier than it used to be, said David Ortega, a professor and food economist at Michigan State University.
"We come into contact with food prices much more than we do other prices in the economy," he told CBS News.
The rise in food prices in Tuesday's CPI reading is being driven by certain food categories like beef and coffee, which have hit record highs, according to Ortega. CBS News' price tracker shows that overall food prices have jumped nearly 19% since January 2022.
Just a few of the staple items that have gotten more expensive, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis:
- Ground coffee cost $9.05 per pound in December 2025 (up from $6.78 December 2024)
- Boneless sirloin steak cost $14.03 per pound in December 2025 (up from $11.67 in December 2024)
- Romaine lettuce cost $3.47 per pound in December 2025 (up from $3.03 in December 2024)
- A 12-ounce can of orange juice frozen concentrate cost $4.82 in December 2025 (up from $4.29 in December 2024)
- Bananas cost 66 cents per pound in December 2025 (up from 62 cents per pound in December 2024)
Multiple factors explain the rise in food costs, ranging from constrained beef supplies to tariffs and bad weather for coffee.
President Trump cut tariffs on certain foods in November in an effort to rein in prices, although experts say any price relief won't be immediate.
One boost for shoppers: eggs. The price of a carton of eggs has soared in recent years because of the ongoing outbreak of avian flu, but has since cooled, dropping nearly 21% on an annual basis in December. A dozen eggs cost shoppers $2.71 in December 2025, down sharply from $6.23 in March of last year when prices peaked, CBS News' price tracker shows.
Higher restaurant tabs
It's not just grocery runs that are denting Americans' budgets. Dining out is also getting costlier. The Labor Department's measure for this, known as "food away from home," in December rose at an annual rate of 4.1%, compared with 2.7% for inflation overall.
Joe Hannon, general manager of inventory and purchasing at Restaurant365, a cloud-based management platform for restaurants, attributes the higher prices to rising labor and utilities costs.
"Operators aren't raising menu prices because of a single spike, but because multiple costs are staying higher at the same time, squeezing margins that were already thin," he told CBS News in an email. "That's why menu prices have continued to rise faster than overall inflation, even as some headline numbers begin to cool."
Ortega agreed, adding that an increase in the number of people dining out since the COVID-19 pandemic is also putting upward pressure on menu prices.
"When you have increased costs and then strong consumer demand, that's a recipe for prices to increase," he said.