Jacksonville shoppers coping with rising food costs as wholesale prices increase

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Wholesale prices rose more than expected in January, according to a U.S. Department of Labor report released Friday.

The Wholesale Price Index, which is now known as the Producer Price Index, is a measure of inflation based on the price of goods before they reach consumers.

Earlier this week a different report showed grocery prices rose .4% from December to January.

“Prices have just, we’re so accustomed to it, it’s gone up,” grocery shopper Phyllis Hoskins said.

READ | U.S. Department of Labor report on Producer Price Index

News4JAX spoke to several grocery shoppers as they were leaving the store to learn more about their spending.

“It depends. If I’m grocery shopping for basic household stuff my grocery bill can be, hell it’s never $20. It’s anywhere from $50 to $200,” grocery shopper Jenay said.

Hoskins and Jenay said they feel like their bill has increased in the past few months.

And they’re not wrong.

The report from the U.S. Department of Labor released earlier this week details how the index for meat and eggs didn’t change over that month, but the index for sugar, sweets fats and oils did.

One shopper said the way she tries to navigate the price increase is by never shopping at the same store all of the time.

News4JAX wanted to try the shopper’s method, by going into these three grocery stores to compare prices.

This is a list of the five things we looked at:

• A five-pound bag of apples

• Chicken thighs

• A gallon of milk

• A dozen of 12 large eggs

• A loaf of white bread

Here’s how much those five items cost at three different stores:

• At Harvey’s, they cost $24.75

• At Publix, they cost $25.26

• At Walmart, they cost $17.39

And Hoskins said even though prices are rising, they’re just something we all have to deal with.

“If you want to eat, you’re going to pay the prices,” Hoskins said.

That report also shows groceries over the last year rose 1.2%.

To save money, experts said it’s important to buy generic, make a list before you go into the store, compare store prices and use coupons.

Are you comparing prices before a grocery store run? If not, what practices do you use to save money as inflation continues? Share your response below: