America’s grocery bills are surging and there’s no relief in sight
CNNNew York CNN Business — You’ve probably realized that shopping for food and household basics is more expensive these days. Prices shoppers paid for groceries climbed 1% in October from September and were 5.4% higher than at the same time last year, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “We continue to face accelerating levels of extraordinary inflation,” Tyson said in a letter to retail customers last month in which it announced it would be raising prices next year on brands such as Ball Park hot dogs and Jimmy Dean frozen breakfast. “The sustained duration and significant impact of the inflation necessitates additional pricing action.” “We’ve been increasing prices, and we plan to increase prices more than we’ve done…for quite a while as a company,” Mondelez CEO Dirk Van de Put said on an earnings call with analysts last week. Squeeze on low-income customers While higher prices for food are impacting families across the country, low-income shoppers get hit hardest when essentials become more expensive.