JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If you think your grocery bill is already high, brace yourself.
The U-S Department of Agriculture predicts prices to rise anywhere from 3% to 7% in the next few months.
“Eggs are still hatched. Cows are still having calves, so I don’t understand any of this,” Jacksonville grocery shopper Henry Lawton said.
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Beef and veal increased the most since last year with a 16.2% price jump. This year, poultry is predicted to make one of the biggest price increases.
Chicken will cost up to 7% more and eggs up to 3.5%. Charlean and Henry Lawton say they’ve cutback on their favorite foods to help offset the rising costs. “We haven’t had chicken wings since the pandemic, yeah because they’re too expensive. We enjoy them but we don’t buy them.”
It’s not just the price of meats that’s going up. One grocery shopper told us, “I don’t buy a lot of meat, I buy a lot of microwave dinners, it used to be three something it’s now five.”
The cost of fresh produce is also up. Jacksonville resident Romy Delfino came to the Jacksonville Farmer’s market to find a better bargain.
“We came here for the fruits and like tomatoes yeah, the fresh things,” Delfino said. “All the meats and things we’ll get it at the store.”
With household staples like peppers, onions, tomatoes up 7.7% since last year and rising, some farmers are trying to sell items in bulk to keep prices fair.
“I’m adjusting my prices where the customers can be happy, and I can be happy,” farmer Jimmy Lundy said. “I just have to sell more of it.”
Cereals, bakery products, sugar and sweets, and fats and oil are all up in price.
To save some extra cash, financial experts advise making personal sacrifices like buying only what you need and switching to generic brands.