Purdue: Food spending climbs as inflation catches up
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Consumers say they are spending almost 7% more on their grocery bills than a year ago as food spending hits a peak this year and inflation slightly recedes, according to a Purdue University report.
The university’s survey-based Consumer Food Insights Report began collecting monthly data in January 2022 and is based out of the Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability.
Food spending has hit its highest total since the survey’s inception, and the rate of sell-out items at grocery stores has continued to decrease. The monthly report says this is a good sign that people may see stable prices as there is less upward pressure to raise them.
“I think this is reflective of the fact that inflation is starting to catch up with consumers and it’s being seen in their food spending patterns,” Jayson Lusk, Purdue Agricultural Economics Department head, told the Associated Press.
Lusk said in the report there was a reduction in the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which appears to correlate with government’s decision the pandemic is over leading to the end of related expansions.
Food insecurity ticked up 2% to 16% and lands in the same range as January 2022. Budget-constrained shoppers more often elect to grocery shop at dollar stores and would be interested in a broader range of items, which brand names are warming up to providing, the report said.
“It’s not a big spike yet,” Lusk told the AP. “We don’t yet know whether that will continue in the wrong direction but that certainly a number we’ve been keeping an eye on.”
You can connect to the full report from May by clicking here.