It's Not Your Imagination — Thanks to Inflation, This Staple Food Really Is More Expensive Than Ever

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If it feels like your grocery bill has been getting higher and higher, even when you’re trying to stick to a simple list of the basics, you’re not alone. It feels like our grocery budget has nearly doubled in recent months, and it hasn’t been getting any better. According to the US Labor Department, food inflation hit 13.1% year-over-year last month, and one of the hardest-hit items is a true staple that we used to rely on because of its affordability: eggs.

Eggs have seen some of the most dramatic price increases of any staple food this year. According to Information Resources Inc., egg prices rose 5.9% between June and July of this year alone, and they’re up 46.8% compared to egg prices in July of last year. If you buy free-range or pasture-raised eggs at the grocery store, that means you could be paying almost $9 a carton — at least, that’s how much they’re going for in Los Angeles. The fact that the US is going through the worst outbreak of bird flu in recent memory doesn’t help things, either.

Breakfast for dinner is starting to sound like a luxury meal rather than an affordable, quick supper. But eggs aren’t the only food that has seen steep price increases since last year. Frozen dinners and entrees are 22.8% more expensive, butter and margarine are 26.3% more expensive, frozen pizza is up 17.8%, and bread is up 15.4%. So, you know, just all of the foods we rely on for quick meals when we’re pressed for time. Who knew toast with butter and a Lean Cuisine would someday be consider high-end?

But surely, some foods have gotten more affordable, right? Uhh…yeah, kind of. A few different foods saw their price decrease from June to July, though not year over year. And unfortunately, something tells us that a .1% decrease in the price of packaged lunch meat since last month (it’s still up 24% year over year) isn’t going to make a huge difference to your grocery budget when staples like eggs are nearly twice the price they were last year.

So, what are we supposed to do? It looks like inflation relief isn’t on the way any time soon if current trends continue. On the plus side, the relative cost of eggs to other, formerly pricier ingredients might help you justifying having steak for dinner one night instead of the world’s most expensive omelet!

Before you go, check out Ina Garten’s easy weeknight dinner recipes below: