Posted on 09/14/2025 1:08:27 PM PDT by Angelino97
It has not been a pretty summer for consumers at California’s supermarkets.
That’s what my trusty spreadsheet found when averaging slices of Consumer Price Indexes for three Golden State metro areas: the Los Angeles/Orange County combo, San Francisco and San Diego.
This summer’s pricing – June through August’s reports – shows that prices in the “food at home” category across those three metros grew at an average 3.3% annual rate this summer. So, grocery inflation more than doubled from 1.5% in 2024.
Yes, food at home inflation is nowhere near the pandemic era’s inflation surge that saw grocery prices balloon at a 6.4% average annual rate in 2021-23. Nevertheless, mid-year 2025’s California grocery inflation is running faster than the overall cost of living.
The overall Consumer Price Index for the three big markets averaged 3.1% gains this summer, the same as a year ago. During the 2021-23 inflation surge, this price yardstick grew at a 5% annual rate.
These recent cost-of-living gyrations, however, don’t mitigate the financial pain of the worst bout of inflation in four decades.
Take a longer-term view, as measured by the CPI: California groceries are 26% costlier over five years, as the overall cost of living rose 23%.
A chunk of this summer’s revived food inflation can be attributed to the higher costs of production and distribution. The new administration’s tariffs are making certain imported food more expensive.
Ponder the grocery categories tracked by local CPIs to see which California supermarket aisles are most troublesome to your household’s food budget. These are ranked by one-year increases …
(Excerpt) Read more at dailynews.com ...
Thank Gruesome Newsom.
FTA
Meats, poultry, fish and eggs: Up 4.3% annually this summer vs. 3% last year but off the 4.8%-a-year pace of 2021-23. Yes, the high-profile egg inflation has moderated. But beef prices soared — up 24% over five years — as drought has thinned herds and production costs have soared.
Fruits and vegetables: Up 4.1% annually this summer vs. 0.2% last year and 4.8% a year in 2021-23. Labor shortages have shrunk harvests while tariffs have upped import prices. These costs have increased by 20% over the past five years.
Nonalcoholic beverages: Up 3.4% this summer vs. 1.3% last year and 4.7% a year in 2021-23. Tariffs hit coffee. Costs for ingredients such as fruit and sugar have increased sharply. Prices are up 20% over five years.
Sweets, fats and oils: Up 2.9% this summer vs. 2% last year and 8.8% a year in 2021-23. Costlier sugar and cattle outweigh certain savings on grains. Yet these prices are up 35% over five years.
Alcoholic beverages: 2.7% this summer vs. 1.1% last year and the 3.6% average in 2021-23. Falling consumption keeps price hike modest – up only 15% over five years.
Dairy: Up 2% this summer vs. 0.7% last year and the 6.2% average in 2021-23. Prices are back on the upswing due to smaller herds and rising production costs. Prices are up 21% over five years.
Cereals/baked goods: Up 1.9% this summer, the same as last year, and nowhere near the 8.2% annually in 2021-23. Grain prices have returned to normalcy after the pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war upset supply chains. Prices are up 31% over five years.
gas prices went up with another tax increase - what do you expect???
Food costs are skyrocketing in many places including here, Reddest State in the Union along with fuel. So much for Trumps plans.
Phillips just shut down its refinery. Valero starts its shutdown in Jan or Early Feb.
That is 20 to 25 percent fuel off the market. When it switches to summer blend next spring the percent will be around 25 percent off the market. If and of the remaining refineries have any problems at all, you will see something that makes the 70s fuel shortage look like ice cresm socials.
This will go nationwide since it will create problems in the neighboring states.
Things get trucked, flights need fuel, and people use propane for heat.
AND, the some of the remaining refineries are considering closing.
Have a blessed day and just remember, governments are here to help you.
Lol.
What?
Not just California. It’s horrible in Tennessee.
Laboratory of democracy. Learn it, love it, live it.
Blame in on Newsom. Here in NE Georgia, my grocery prices have been dropping over the past couple of months. It is nice to see my receipt total steadily going down after months of it rapidly increasing each week under “Bidenomics”.
California is pushing electric cars, trying to make it less convenient to own gas fueled vehicles.
I don't know how aggressively they're pushing electric cars in other states.
“HEY, THERE’S ROGER SHERMAN!”
My bride and I were at the Capitol a number of years ago for a CATS
meeting. We lived there while in the USAF from ‘62 to ‘66 and Sharon worked
at 1701 Pennsylvania Ave — overlooking the White House. JFK tried to hit
on her when she encountered him coming out of Blair House one lunch hour —
but I digress and that’s ANOTHER story.
After the CATS session, which was held in the basement on the House side, we
were strolling through Statuary Hall looking, frankly, for Sherman’s statue.
Couldn’t find it in the main hall. Sharon had to visit the sandbox and, as
I waited for her in the corridor off the south side of the main hall, there
he was — right in front of me. The ONLY man to have signed ALL FOUR of
this nation’s founding documents, engineered our two house legislature and
struggled to preserve honest money for the new country was relegated to a
side hallway!
As I wondered how many of the several hundred Americans who passed that spot
even knew who Sherman was or how important he was, along came an ORIENTAL
family of 4, two parents and two teen-age sons. The parents were conversing
with the boys in their native tongue when one of the boys smiled and loudly
declared — in perfect English — “HEY, THERE’S ROGER SHERMAN!”
They MAY have lived in Connecticut and their history teachers had done their
jobs better than most.
I’ll never know WHY that young man knew Sherman.
And I’ll never know how many of the presumed native Americans in that
corridor DID NOT know him.
All I DO know is that I was overwhelmed by emotion and turned my back,
covered my eyes with my hand — and softly wept.
My late friend Tupper Saussy educated ME about Mr. Sherman — and RUINED my
life forever. :-))
Alcoholic beverages: 2.7% this summer vs. 1.1% last year and the 3.6% average in 2021-23. Falling consumption keeps price hike modest – up only 15% over five years.
____________________
During the COVID crisis and even now, the booze seems to keep its prices steady.
I am not sure why?
That their tuff luck. If they are stupid enough to do that then they can suffer...but.
This is interstate commerce.
What they are doing is screwing with everyone in the rest of the country.
Just remember this. 90% of the fresh vegetables offered nationwide in winter comes from the Imperial Valley of CA and Yuma AZ. Drive the price of fuel up and guess what.
Have a blessed day and just remember, governments are here to hrlp you.
Lol.
Fuel prices have negligible effect on food prices.
Get it?
dont forget prepared foods, minimum wage for fast food workers is $20 an hour implemented in 2024 18,000 of those jobs were lost...minimum wage for all workers is $16.50 an hour...many cities have higher minimum wages: https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/inventory-of-us-city-and-county-minimum-wage-ordinances/#s-2
That extra buck adds up over thousands of miles.
"Green" energy will do that. It powers farm equipment, driers, transportation, cold storage, distribution and grocery store operations. Energy is a major input in food production and distribution from start to finish. But CA hasn't seen anything yet because petroleum prices have not yet baked in the cost of shutting down CA oil refineries.
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