Shopping smarter: What you can do to save money despite raising food prices

Food prices are predicted to increase by at least 2.2 percent in 2025, according to to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Food you make at home is expected to go up in price by 1.3 percent. Food you eat at a restaurant, could be 3.6 percent more expensive!

So, what’s causing these high costs? And what do you need to know to help you shop smarter?

THE PRICES DEBATE

In aisles across South Florida you can’t help but notice what used to cost less is now more expensive.

“If you look at it closely, food prices are up like all prices are up. All prices are up 23% over this period, food prices are up 25% over this period. So really what’s causing general inflation is causing also food inflation,” said David Kelly, professor of Economics at the University of Miami.

He says there’s been debate over what’s making prices go up, from supply chain issues to problems overseas. But he says those two things have moderated over the past year.

“So really the only explanation that’s been consistent over this period is the high budget deficits. When the government is constantly transferring cash to people and we don’t have the extra food production to go along with that, then the prices just kind of get a bit up.”

And it’s affecting almost everything.

“It’s really quite across the board. Definitely meats, all of the fresh foods, eggs of course, dairy,” said Kelly.

To put it in perspective, according to Nerd Wallet, the price of eggs is up roughly 36.8%, in large part due to the bird flu.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

Kelly said you should plan your shopping trip ahead of time, look at what’s on sale online before planning your shopping route, make a list and don’t stray from it.

He also encouraged people to be open to potentially having to go to multiple grocery stores as each place has different things on sale every week.

And another tip: consider buying more frozen foods.

“A lot of grocery waste happens at home and then you bought something at a high price and not got anything out of it. And frozen food, because there is less waste at the grocery store is often cheaper so for fresh food the grocery has to factor into the price that a lot of it will have to be thrown out,” Kelly said.

So, what are ways in which the federal government may look to help curb prices?

President Donald Trump has been vocal about implementing tariffs to country’s like Canada and Mexico, suppliers for the majority of produce to the United States.

Kelly said we need that food, as many products don’t grow here or are grown seasonally.

“If you don’t want the prices spiking in the winter months, you need a source of food outside of the U.S. because those sources have different weather patterns. So, when you put tariffs on food, it doesn’t really account for that. And what you will see is higher prices, especially during those months when a product happens to be imported,” he said.

But could tariffs potentially be a good thing to help American farmers prosper?

Kelly says not necessarily.

He gives an example of something the United States has in surplus, wheat.

“One thing that could happen is that U.S. wheat producers might raise their price to the same level as the import price which is higher due to the tariff. That sometimes happens, which would be bad for the consumer because, yes, you are buying U.S. wheat, but you are buying at a higher price,” he said.

What about taking things into your own hands- like building your own chicken coop or growing herbs?

“As your economist I would say that you have to factor in your opportunity costs, those costs which are not buying of the herb plant, but the cost of taking care of it, which could be time spent doing other things,” Kelly said.

And while the future is hard to predict, he suggests buyers heed his advice, as he says food prices will start to level off but won’t be going down.

Another tip that Kelly shares is to look at apps like Instacart. You don’t have to buy anything on the platform, but it’s a good tool to use to compare prices and help you make that grocery list for the week.