PITTSBURGH — These are anxious times in which to feed our families.
Grocery shopping is not just wildly expensive these days — the Consumer Price Index in July was up 2.7% year-over-year, with the price of some foods reaching record levels — but also filled with uncertainty.
Just when you think the price of a box of Honey Nut Cheerios couldn’t be higher (seriously folks, $7?) we have to worry about how big a hole global tariffs will burn in our pockets going forward.
Nearly 75% of U.S. food imports will be affected, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax policy nonprofit. A 25% tariff on all Mexican imports all but guarantees the cost of fresh produce will go up, and we also can expect to pay more for household essentials like coffee and bananas.
The price of eggs is (maybe?) down to a bearable level. Recently, a dozen Good & Gather large white eggs were on sale at Target for $2.79. But the cost of ground beef is still climbing along with prices for dairy.