Grocery prices rose by 3.5% during 2020, the largest increase since prices rose 4.8% in 2011, said the USDA on Monday. Beef led the parade of pandemic price increases, up by 9.6% for the year, followed by pork, up 6.3%, and poultry, up by 5.6%.
“Only the price of fresh fruits declined (0.8%), while all other food categories increased in price,” said the monthly Food Price Outlook written by USDA economists. Grocery prices are forecast to rise by a modest 1.5% this year. The long-term average is a 2% increase annually; food prices usually track the overall U.S. inflation rate. -----------------------------------------------
And from https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/food-inflation-in-the-united-states/
The below table shows the percent increase or decrease in food prices on an annual basis by month and calendar year. Since figures below are 12-month periods, look to the December column to find the over change in food prices by calendar year. The last column, "Ave," shows the average rate of increase or decrease in food prices by year.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.4 |
| 2014 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 2.3 |
| 2015 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 1.8 |
| 2016 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | -0.2 | -0.3 | -0.3 | -0.1 | 0.3 |
| 2017 | -0.1 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 0.9 |
| 2018 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.4 |
| 2019 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.9 |
| 2020 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.4 |
| 2021 | 3.8 |
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Food and beverages in U.S. city average, all urban consumers, not seasonally adjusted. CPI-All Urban Consumers.
Regarding a source:
The source for the prices is my neighborhood Food City on line store. All items can be ordered on line for curbside pick up and the prices as those in the store.
The prices are local, for my zip code. For the purpose of inflated or increasing prices, the localness makes no difference in that the various locality variance factors from month to month do not apply.
Thanks for your input. I can track local vs national price change for the basket