Grocery prices in North Texas rose over 14% last year, report says
FORT WORTH (CBSNewsTexas.com) — In recent years, grocery prices have increased more in North Texas than in any other major city in the country except Detroit, according to a recent federal report tracking inflation.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office found that retail food prices in the U.S. went up by about 2% each year on average from 2013 to 2022. From 2021 to 2022, prices jumped 11%.
Supply chain disruptions from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine are partly to blame.
"Food is too high," said Fort Worth shopper Laverne Badger. "Now I'm choosing between buying groceries and paying bills, doing this and doing that."
Badger said she's had to completely change her shopping habits to get by.
"I buy cheaper stuff, and I try to find stuff on sale," she said.
Customers in Detroit and North Texas have seen the biggest increase in the cost of groceries, according to the federal report.
From 2021 to 2022, food price inflation was 14.49% in Detroit, while the Metroplex saw a 14.03% increase in the cost of groceries.
All 17 metro areas the government tracked had double digit increases, except for Fort Lauderdale-Miami and Urban Hawaii. To attribute for some of the variation among cities, the report cited retailers passing on local cost increases in transportation and retail overhead expenses, such as labor and rent, to consumers.
Gary Huddleston, a grocery industry consultant with the Texas Retailers Association, believes it doesn't necessarily mean grocery bills in North Texas are higher than places like Los Angeles and New York.
"In Dallas-Fort Worth, prices, especially in grocery, were lower than other parts of the country, and then with the pandemic fuel issues, labor issues, began to catch up with other parts of the country," he said. "So that the percent is greater, not much greater, but it's greater than other parts of the country. But the raw dollars probably aren't as much as other parts of the country."
Huddleston said supply chain issues have improved and labor costs are stabilizing.
"So we're cautiously optimistic that the balance of the year, there's still going to be some inflation, but that it won't be as great as it was in prior years," said Huddleston.
Until then, shoppers will continue to find ways to deal with the high prices to put food on the table.
