Trusted Professional

Food Prices Continue to Rise

Grocery bills continued to expand last month, as the price of many supermarket staples saw increases, in some cases significant ones, according to CNN Business. While the overall cost of food items rose by 1 percent compared to May, the average includes several major swings for individual items.

Meat overall has become more expensive: The cost of both beef and veal is up by 4.8 percent, the price of pork is 3.3 percent higher, hot dogs are 4.9 percent more expensive, and frozen fish and seafood are 1 percent more expensive. Meanwhile, if you, like many people, love the crispy smokiness of bacon, be prepared to pay 8.1 percent more at the checkout counter, which is a shame for a certain Trusted Professional writer who has recently rediscovered the simple pleasures of a BLT, now that tomatoes are in season (pro tip: toast the bread in a little bit of bacon fat before assembling the rest of the sandwich—it's amazing).

Packaged cakes, cupcakes and cookies are 1.8 percent more expensive, while fresh cakes and cupcakes are 3.5 percent more expensive, and doughnuts are 1.8 percent more expensive, possibly because the price of flour has also risen, by 2.1 percent, the same rate as for general snack food. Coffee, breakfast cereal and fresh vegetables also got more expensive by 1.8, 1.1, and 1.3 percent respectively.

Eggs, however, have stopped their sudden rise and instead become 2.7 percent less expensive, which is good news for aficionados of breakfast sandwiches.