Even with gas prices finally coming down, grocery store prices are still higher than ever. And unfortunately, economists are predicting that they won't be going back down any time soon.
Recently, grocery shoppers shared the items they simply won't buy anymore due to the price. And in the comments and on Facebook, people called out even more wild price increases they've been seeing on their local stores' shelves. Here's what they had to say:
1. "Cereal was something we would get two boxes a week and now we maybe get one a month. Even the generic brands are way overpriced."
2. "$8.99 for a box with six granola bars. Like, come on!!! Tiny little granola bars cost more than the federal minimum wage."
—Kristen P., Facebook
3. "I stopped buying Hot Pockets. Where I shop, they went from like $2 a pack to over $3.50. That's just too much."
4. "I scanned grapes the other day, and they were $20. They didn’t come home with me."
5. "Good, quality dog food has skyrocketed in my area, but I refuse to buy anything less for my babies. I just cut down on my own purchases, buy generic, and opt for other inexpensive stuff."
6. "The other day I went to buy a pack of ramen that used to be 25 cents. Great meal saver on a night before a paycheck hits. Can always find a quarter. I hadn’t bought any in a while and almost passed out to see it was now 45 cents. Can I still find 45 cents? Sure, but it just captures the whole problem. Prices didn’t jump; they did an Olympic pole vault."
—Guinevere M., Facebook
7. "Um, bacon. A $5 package now costs two times that. I get excited when I see it on sale, and then I notice its the cheap artificially maple-flavored kind. Then it has the audacity to shrink when you cook it, lol."
8. "Potatoes. I used to buy a 5-pound bag for $4.99 at Safeway. Now it's $10."
"I am a restaurant owner (very small place). A case of baking potatoes was $20 two months ago; now they are $62 a case."
—Terry C., Facebook
9. "Fruit snacks that used to be around $5 for the 40 pack jumped up to $7.12, and then within another three weeks it jumped up to $9.12. Same brand, size, everything; besides the price. I was already hating the first jump; now I’m for sure not buying them."
—Jordan G., Facebook
10. "I tried to buy blueberries at Albertsons. $25. I put them back."
11. "A 24-pack of Coca-Cola cans was $8.99. Now it’s $12.99. A $4 difference within a year is ridiculous."
12. "I used to be able to buy a bag of apples for between $3.50 and $4. Went to the store yesterday, and they were $7.50."
—Elizabeth F., Facebook
13. "I stopped drinking coffee because I could not afford it anymore. It just costs so much. Plus I have to use non-dairy creamer options, and those cost too much as well!"
14. "Fage individual cups and yogurt in general. They shrank the size — which I was super bummed about because 6 ounces was perfect! They also increased the price. I now make my yogurt and buy Fage maybe once a week, as opposed to three times pre-inflation."
15. "I used to buy this packed deli meat for $4. It would last us a good while. I hadn’t bought it in a while so I picked some up without checking the price because I always used to get it. It was $9!!!!!"
—Maya A., Facebook
16. "Canned soup. You used to be able to get it for around $1. Now it's twice that and never goes on sale anymore."
17. "Remember — a lot of these products have gone down in size AND increased in price. Doritos are a big example for me, which I refuse to buy. The chips are thinner, the bag is smaller, and they are another $2 in price. No. Just NO."
18. "Orange juice. I can't justify spending $8 for the large jug of Tropicana orange juice when it used to be closer to $6. Even the quart-size containers are nearly $4. It's just not worth it."
—Jaclyn R., Facebook
19. "Cheese! I used to buy string cheese for lunches, and they doubled in price, even the no-name brand."
20. "Mayo. A regular-size jar is over $10 now. I work in a grocery store, and OMG the price hikes."
21. "Margarine! I Can't Believe It's Not Butter went from $4.99 to $5.99 to $6.99, and now it's $8.99. At first, we started laying real butter sticks out to soften, but now we buy the tiniest tub for $2.49 and lay out a stick of butter when it's half gone and mix. It doesn't get as hard in the fridge. We only use it for toast now so it lasts for about six weeks this way for a total cost of $3.49."
22. "For the past few years, Friday night has always been 'pizza night' at my house. I cook six nights a week, so I wanted Fridays off. About a year ago, we decided to save some money and do frozen pizzas instead because takeout was getting pretty pricey. Now the damn frozen pizzas cost just as much if not more than than the takeout pizzas! We only buy things on sale now, so if there are no pizzas on sale that week, it's PB&J Friday, lol."
23. "Eggs! At my local Walmart, eggs used to be $.88 (CENTS!) now the off-brand costs over $3 a dozen!! Ridiculous."
—Jamerica N., Facebook
24. "Canned pineapple. Four years ago, I was eating it almost daily, and it was $0.79 a can. I went yesterday, and it is up to $2.22. A 120%+ increase moved it off my list completely."
—Amanda N., Facebook
25. "I bought a single bell pepper for $1.89 the other day. The item I feel the most is cat litter. A big tub of Tidy Cats used to be like $13, and now it's almost $19. We have six cats so you can imagine the litter I go through. 😅"
26. "Cabbage. A head of cabbage was $0.89; now it’s over $3. I can’t bring myself to pay that much for a head of cabbage."
—Chastity M., Facebook
27. "My wife loves Stouffer's mac and cheese, a comfort food from her childhood. It used to cost about $2 for a single-serve package, and about $5 for the equivalent of three of those. The larger size is no longer on the shelf, and the single serve has gone up to over $5."
28. "The prices of food right now is so scary. Hot dogs that have been 99 cents for years are now $4."
29. "At Walmart, a dozen Great Value eggs are $2.22 and a gallon of Great Value milk is $3.52. On a whim, I checked my receipts on the app to compare. This time last year, the same dozen eggs were 68 cents (226% increase) and the same gallon of milk was $1.78 (98% increase)."
"I just did the same thing for the fun of it. Cereal I bought in June 2020 for $2.78 is now $9.54 💀."
30. "Double Stuff Oreos. They are more expensive now, and what was 'normal stuff' is now the 'double stuff.' I honestly thought I accidentally bought regular Oreos. Such B.S. As you can tell, I take my Oreos seriously."
31. "A single tomato at my local grocery store (I live in a farm town, mind you) was $3.86 the other day."
32. "I saw Goya beans go from $1 a can to $1.50. That's a lot when you eat a lot of beans."
33. "Frozen dinners and veggies. A Lean Cuisine dinner used to be $2 and is now $4.50. Convenience for work lunches isn't worth it."
—Jody F., Facebook
34. "The cost of oatmeal has gone up, and it's ridiculous. Before, store-brand old-fashioned oats would cost $1.99. Now it's $3.99, which is barely cheaper than the name brand. Salmon was always expensive and something I didn't buy very often, but a bag of frozen filets cost about the same as the fresh 5-pound slab."
Where are you noticing rising prices at the grocery store? Share the worst price hikes you've seen in the comments.
Note: Responses have been edited for length and or clarity.