After two straight months of flat food prices, the cost of food increased slightly during May. Overall food prices rose 0.2 percent from April to May.
The New York Times says U.S. grocery prices rose 0.1 percent in May, up from April, when prices dropped 0.2 percent. The price of food at restaurants continued climbing, up 0.5 percent during the month. Food prices are rising at a slightly slower rate than they were during recent months but are still much higher than the prices were before COVID-19. Food prices have risen 6.7 percent higher during the past 12 months.
After rising 0.5 percent in April, fruit and vegetable prices rose 1.3 percent in May. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs dropped 1.2 percent during May after dropping 0.3 percent in April. The price of eggs dropped almost 14 percent, the largest drop in that index since January 1951.
