Grocery bills still sting
If you’ve been feeling that your grocery cart is costing more than it used to, you’re not imagining things. According to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI), grocery prices jumped 0.6% from July to August, the sharpest monthly increase in nearly three years. Overall, prices are 2.7% higher than a year ago and nearly 30% higher than before the pandemic. For many Americans, that’s hitting where it hurts: the wallet. Nearly half of households now say groceries are their number one financial stress.
Inflation has cooled off compared to the nightmare of summer 2022, when food prices were up more than 13% year-over-year, but relief has been short-lived. A mix of tariffs, weather disasters, and supply issues is keeping some everyday staples — coffee, beef, and eggs — painfully expensive.
Coffee lovers are feeling the grind
For coffee drinkers, mornings just got more expensive. Coffee prices shot up 3.6% in August, marking the biggest monthly jump since 2011. Over the past year, ground roast coffee prices are up more than 20%, averaging a record $8.87 per pound.
Why the spike? Blame it on a one-two punch: droughts in Brazil and Vietnam, the world’s largest coffee producers, slashed harvests, while new 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods under President Trump’s trade policies added extra cost for U.S. importers.
And unlike some foods that can be sourced locally, America is nearly 100% dependent on imports for coffee. Demand, however, hasn’t dropped — people love their morning cup too much. But with Brazilian exports to the U.S. already down 26% from July to August, don’t expect much relief soon.
Beef prices keep climbing
If your weekend cookouts are burning a bigger hole in your pocket, you’re not alone. The average price of ground beef hit a record $6.32 per pound in August, up nearly 14% from last year and almost 60% higher than in 2021.
The problem boils down to supply and demand. The U.S. cattle herd is at its lowest in almost 75 years, yet Americans’ appetite for burgers and steaks hasn’t slowed. To make up for the shortage, the U.S. imported a record 4.6 billion pounds of beef in 2024. Most of it comes from Australia, Canada, and Brazil, but new tariffs on Brazilian beef could keep prices sizzling well into 2026.
Adding to the headache, a flesh-eating pest discovered in Mexico last year forced officials to block cattle shipments from south of the border, tightening supply even further.
Eggs crack under pressure
Eggs, on the other hand, are giving shoppers a little break — though not much. Prices peaked at $6.23 per dozen in March 2025 during the height of the bird flu crisis, when tens of millions of hens were wiped out. Today, they’ve dropped to $3.59 per dozen, but that’s still 11% higher than last year.
The wild swings in egg prices over the past two years even sparked “egg-flation” memes, as some families resorted to raising backyard chickens or smuggling cartons in from Mexico. The good news is bird flu outbreaks have slowed, and the CDC officially ended its emergency response in July. Still, experts warn it could take more time before egg prices settle back to pre-pandemic levels.
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What it means for your wallet
Between tariffs, droughts, pests, and lingering supply chain messes, grocery bills aren’t likely to ease anytime soon. Coffee and beef are the biggest culprits, but fruits, vegetables, and eggs are also contributing to higher receipts at checkout.
For now, shoppers are left with a few options: cut back, shop around, or get creative with substitutions. But one thing’s for sure — whether it’s your morning coffee, a burger on the grill, or eggs for Sunday brunch, feeding your family is costing more than ever.
