Grocery prices on the rise; relief may be months away

Grocery store prices are on the rise, and experts say it could take months to go back to normal.

A small market in Naples said it all has to do with supply and demand because more people are cooking at home.

Food prices in April posted their biggest monthly increase since 1974.

“With a lot of things not on the shelves and supply and demand, that’s normal economics,” said Jackie Busby of Naples.

At Wynn’s Market in Naples, Arthur Meade said he has seen prices go up on certain things, but not everything.

“Some things spike up a lot, like the ground chuck. The same thing happened in 2008 when the bubble burst; people started buying ground beef because it’s cheap,” Meade said.

He said it’s because of issues with production around the world.

“Dairy farms are having it tough, and poultry plants, etc. Prices are driven up, and a lot of plants have had to close down,” he said. “It’s going to be expensive because the supply is no longer there, but there are still so many items that have not gone up in price at all.”

Residents said grocery shopping in Southwest Florida has been a blessing.

“There are people in Massachusetts waiting in line forever to get in stores where stores are just empty,” Meade said.

Lisa Wilbraham said she noticed higher prices up north after buying groceries online for her son in New York.

“I do notice it there because the price was so expensive … I paid for a 12 pack of soda, like $8,” she said.

“We’ve been OK and I’m so blessed to be here and I don’t know if I want to go back up north in June.”

Grocery workers said things like pork and chicken reproduce quickly and are not usually what goes up in price.

Products that take longer to produce become limited and those are the items you could see get more expensive.

If you want to save money while shopping, here is a list of several money-saving apps you can use when buying your groceries.