Food Prices Increase 0.7% in November: CPI Report

Food prices rose 0.7% in November, a slightly smaller increase than October’s 0.9%, according to information from the recently released CPI report. This month marks the eleventh consecutive month there has been an increase in food prices.

Food at home

The food at home index rose 0.8% in November, reflecting increases in all six major grocery store food groups. This is the third month in a row that prices for all six groups have gone up. 

The index for nonalcoholic beverages rose 0.2%, reflecting a smaller increase than its October increase of 0.8% and the group’s lowest monthly increase in the past six months. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 0.9% in November, a smaller increase than the group’s 1.7% rise in October. Within this group, the index for pork jumped 2.2% in November and the index for eggs dropped 2.7%.

Price changes for the other major grocery store groups included:

• Cereals and bakery products: +0.8% (+1.0% in October)
• Dairy and related products: +0.2% (+0.2% in October)
• Fruit and vegetables: +1.0% (+0.1% in October)
• Other food at home: +1.0% (+1.2% in October)

Over the past year, the food at home index has increased 6.4%, which is the largest yearly increase since the period that ended in December 2008. All six major grocery store food group indexes increased during this time. The largest increase was seen in the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs at 12.8%, while dairy and related products had the smallest increase at 1.6%.

Food away from home

The food away from home index also increased in November, showing a slightly lower 0.6% rise compared to October’s 0.8% increase. The index for limited service meals continued its steep increase, rising 1.0% after October’s 0.8% increase. The index for full service meals rose 0.4% in November.

The food away from home index has increased 5.8% over the past 12 months, marking the largest yearly increase since the period that ended in January 1982. The index for limited service meals increased 7.9% during this time period, while the index for full service meals increased 6.0%.

Conversely, food at employee sites and schools declined 44.9% during the past year.