Thursday, October 1, 2026
Walking down your local grocery store aisle, you may notice some changes. A food item may be there one week, then gone the next. You can blame pandemic-induced supply-chain woes and labor shortages for the short supply of your favorite foods and drinks. Lately, however, what consumers are paying closest attention to is the rising cost of that food.
The consumer price index for January, which measures the costs of everyday consumer goods, rose 7.5 percent since last year, as reported by the Labor Department in its Consumer Price Index Summary in February. Prices of cereal, baked goods, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish and eggs have all gone up. The only category that did not see an increase in January was nonalcoholic beverages.
Take a trip to the Food World grocery store on West Merrick Road in Valley Stream, however, and shoppers will tell you that while prices may be increasing, they’re still buying at the same rate as before.
“It’s a little bit more [and my budget] has changed, in a sense, but I’m still keeping everything the same,” said shopper Lenny Benbick.
Shopping for her three children, Ogunleye Janet said she spends about $40 per week providing for her family, and although surging prices have affected her, she added, “because I have children, I don’t have a choice. I have to shop.”
The reason many consumers are sticking with what they know may be attributable to brand loyalty. Food companies tread a fine line, as they raise prices high enough to offset increased production costs while making sure their products remain within consumers’ means.
Meanwhile, food-insecure families on Long Island have been hit especially hard, according to Jessica Rosati, chief programs officer at Long Island
Cares, a regional food bank organization headquartered in Hauppauge. “Rising costs of gas, coupled with the costs of food, are crippling L.I.’s working poor and those living in extreme poverty,” Rosati said.
And that is also challenging the resources of food banks, pantries and distribution centers like those at Long Island Cares. The organization’s February statistics show a drop of 23 donors per food drive and a “decrease of 15,275 pounds of donated product compared to February 2021,” Rosati said. “That’s about a 31 percent decrease from last year.”
Long Island Cares, which purchases the majority of the food it distributes in bulk to save on costs, has noted its own food spending bump. “Before the pandemic, we purchased around 89 cents a pound; post-pandemic we are purchasing around $1.29 a pound,” Rosati explained. “Grocery stores support our retail rescue program, which remains robust. However, many supermarkets that once served as a food drive location are not yet participating in person.”
