Food prices overall inched up 0.1% in May, according to the most recent CPI report. This comes after no change during April and is slightly higher than the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, which showed no change in May.
Food at home
The food at home index was unchanged last month. Two of the major grocery store food group indexes were also unchanged, while two went up and two decreased. The index for dairy and related products showed the biggest decrease at -0.5%. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs increased 0.2% during the month, after a 0.7% decrease in April.
Price changes for the other major grocery store groups included:
- Cereals and bakery products: +0.2% (+0.6% in April)
- Fruits and vegetables: Unchanged (-0.8% in April)
- Other food at home: Unchanged (+0.1% in April)
- Nonalcoholic beverages: -0.3% (-0.2% in April)
The food at home index increased 1.0% during the past year. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs saw the largest increase during this time at 2.4%, and the largest decrease was in dairy and related products, which went down 1.0%.
Food away from home
The food away from home index increased in May, rising 0.4% after a 0.3% increase in the two months prior. The index for limited service meals increased 0.2% in May, and the index for full service meals went up 0.4%.
The food away from home index went up 4.0% over the past 12 months. The index for full service meals increased 3.5% during this time, and the index for limited service meals went up 4.5%.
