Editorial: Increasing grocery prices hurt everyone

There are things we can stretch when money is tight.

That pair of shoes might have to last another month or two. Replacing the tires could wait until you get your tax return. This electric bill could get shoved in a drawer until next time, even though it will be twice as big and come with the threat of a shut-off notice.

None is ideal. Most people are familiar with that kind of economic juggling act.

But it’s hard to juggle the grocery budget.

Food is simultaneously the easiest thing to pare back in times of need and the hardest to cut down long term. Many Americans are dealing with that reality right now.

Lucy Monholland of Youngstown is like many people. She’s trying to navigate the life her family had planned. She is a stay-at-home mom to two kids. She and her husband are trying to make do on his paycheck alone, and it’s getting hard. They’ve cut out their prescriptions. They’ve cut out a lot. But they can’t cut out food.

Groceries on average in August were the highest they have been in three years. It’s a combination of factors. Tariffs are increasing coffee and banana prices. The supply chain is still in recovery from the pandemic. Avian flu has been an issue with eggs and chicken.

But overall it costs more to feed a family. Proteins including meat, fish, poultry and eggs are up 5.6% over 2024. Fruits and vegetables, among the hardest hit by tariffs, are up 1.9%.

Frugality is becoming trendy. Influencers and online creators like Rebecca Chobat of Dollar Tree Dinners are amassing followers as they help people come up with ways to feed a person for a week for $10 or a family for a night for $5.

And it may get worse.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is forecasting prices to climb even higher, with an overall 2025 prediction of wholesale increases for beef and eggs. Milk, produce and wheat are expected to decrease. Whether that could change is hard to say. The USDA’s Economic Research Service has been suspended by the government shutdown.

What we know is kids need breakfast. People need lunch. Families need dinner. Food is a necessity, and it’s one that is being threatened at every turn.

Prices are high. Programs are being cut.

“We know the number of people we serve is going to go up,” Jennifer Miller, director of the Westmoreland County Food Bank, said in August.

Food is the fuel in the tank that makes other things possible. It lets kids learn. It lets people go to work. It keeps the juggling act going.

But if the cost of food keeps rising, eventually something is going to fall apart.

“Hopefully, it turns around, but I doubt it,” said Zack Zombek of Mt. Pleasant Township. “Once (prices) go up, nothing comes down.”