No issue encapsulates Americans’ current political ennui more than grocery prices. A recent poll found they were the most common complaint of American consumers, more than housing, transportation, or health care. This fall, Maryland will become the first state to ban dynamic pricing by large grocery stores and grocery delivery apps. Last month, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani promised 30 percent lower prices in the city’s five forthcoming government-run grocery stores. Democratic nominee for US Senate Abdul El-Sayed was sure to mention the affordability of groceries in his victory speech.
Covid-era grocery inflation was certainly steep. In 2022 alone, grocery prices rose more than 11 percent. From June 2019 to June 2026, the price of “food at home” increased by 33 percent. Meat prices are up nearly 50 percent and eggs are up 40 percent. This inflation was especially painful as it followed a seven-year period (2012-19) in which grocery prices had risen a mere 4.3 percent, making for a barely perceptible 0.6 percent annual average.
Yet since October 2023, annualized inflation in groceries has been only 2.1 percent. This is lower than the average rate throughout the 1990s and 2000s. It is below the annualized general inflation rate of 3.2 percent since October 2023. By any reasonable measure, grocery price increases over the past three years have been low. So why are groceries so prominent in American political discourse today? Why are grocery price controls and government-run grocery stores capturing the imagination, especially on the political left?