For many Americans, food sales have been a stressful part of the pandemic. In addition to strict precautionary measures in groceries, food prices have risen to meet the increase in demand – especially for meat.
But that is about to change. On Wednesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the first drop in price since April of last year. Before buying food at home, prices fell 1.1%, compared to a 0.7% increase in June.
On Saturday, Stephanie Ruhle of NBC reported for Weekend TODAY that, with families eating meals at home and not going to restaurants, “shelves were removed during shopping” during the start of the pandemic. Ruhle said it was a classic case of supply and demand causing prices to rise.
Although there has been no food shortage, massive disruptions in the supply chain have resulted in fewer items reaching normal groceries. After dying in May and June, meat prices finally fell in July. The price of meat and veal fell 8.25% from June to July, while beef and steaks fell 8.7% in cost. Pork prices decreased 3.2%, while dome prices decreased by 2.6%, making it easier for families to get dinner on the table.
Other groceries also became cheaper in July: Egg prices fell 4%, cheese fell by 1.6%, potatoes were down 3.1% and peanut butter fell by 2.4%
In the meat category, hot dogs were the one exception: the price of Frankfurters went 2.4% from June to July. The higher price could be partly due to the fourth of July holiday. A few other categories were also more expensive: including salad, by 1.6%, and soup, by 1.2%.
The most positive trajectory comes when meat plants begin to return to a somewhat normal management schedule. Earlier in the pandemic, many meat processors shut down their plants or scaled back their schedules because of workers testing positive for – and some dying for – COVID-19. Employers in meat-packing plants were found to be very susceptible to the virus because many stand shoulder to shoulder while working on the production line.
On July 30, Tyson Foods announced that it would conduct several thousand COVID-19 tests each week in all 140 of its U.S. manufacturing facilities. But some Tyson plants “continue to operate at lower production levels,” CEO Noel White said during a recent interview with analysts discussing the company’s financial results.
The price of groceries has skyrocketed during the pandemic, in part due to the fact that Americans began depositing food. Due to a shortage of labor at the farm level, the supply chain took a hit, even though there was never a shortage of food. All of these factors caused prices to rise, with April of this year seeing the largest one-month increase since 1974, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Ruhle said that if manufacturer prices start to fall, retail prices will follow. In the meantime, she proposed to shop at discount stores like Aldi, concentrating on meals with panther staples instead of fresh items like meat and, if possible, buying in bulk.
