19 Groceries Driving Up Your Bill the Most During Pandemic

The price of flour and prepared flour mixes rose by 4.5% between February, a month before the coronavirus pandemic was declared a national emergency in the United States, and June. As is the case with many items on this list, the price increase for flour is likely tied to a surge in demand.

Flour is a critical ingredient in baking — an activity that surged in popularity as Americans have been confined to their homes during the pandemic. Vermont-based company King Arthur Flour reported a 2,000% increase in flour sales in March 2020 compared to the same month the previous year.

The price of shelf stable fish and seafood, which includes items like canned tuna and sardines, climbed by 4.6% from February to June. During that period, these grocery items hit their highest price point in over a decade. Shelf stable fish and seafood are one of several grocery categories on this list that can last for extended periods of time without spoiling. Sales of many grocery items with a long shelf life spiked during the initial phases of the pandemic, likely contributing to the increase in price.

Fresh sweetrolls, coffeecakes, doughnuts is one several breakfast food categories to rank on this list. The 4.8% price increase of these and other breakfast items at the grocery store is likely tied to increased demand. With a record number of Americans working from home after lockdown measures have been instituted, demand for items such as sweetrolls and doughnuts — that under normal circumstances might be purchased during a commute — spiked at grocery stores (for home consumption – optional. These items cost more in June 2020 than in at least the last 10 years.

Like other items on this list, there was a surge in soft drinks sales during the pandemic. Increased demand may help explain the 5.1% increase in the price of carbonated drinks from February to June. As of June 2020, carbonated drinks cost more at grocery stores than they have at any point since at least 2010.

Rising in price by 5.1% between February and June, soup is one of several items on this list that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, has hit its highest price in U.S. grocery stores in the last 10 years. Soup sold in grocery stores has a long shelf life and can be consumed many months after purchase. Early in the pandemic, soup sales were up over 100% from the same time the previous year.

Frozen fruits and vegetables are one of just 16 types of grocery items that increased in price by more than 5% between February and June. Unlike many of the other groceries on this list, the price of frozen fruits and vegetables over the past decade has not increased as much as the overall price of all groceries, only spiking recently. The price of frozen fruits and vegetables increased by 3.6% from February 2010 to February 2020, while the price of all items has increased by 19.3%.

Because of issues related to supply chain and demand in China that caused the price of pork to increase in recent months, the price of bacon, breakfast sausage, and other related products has also increased. The recent price increase of these breakfast meats of 5.5% between February and June 2020 is part of a longer-term increase. From February 2010 through February 2020, the price of these products increased by close to 30%.

Like shelf stable fish and seafood, frozen fish and seafood can be kept for long periods of time. Foods that last for long periods have been in high demand since the pandemic began in the U.S. The consumer price index of frozen fish and seafood increased by 5.6% from February to June.

The price of breakfast cereal had been declining since late October 2015 and was just 1.8% more expensive in November 2019 than in February 2010. Once people started working from home and were more likely to eat breakfast there as well, cereal prices began to spike. From each month from February through June 2020, the price of breakfast cereal increased by more than 1%, relative to a decade ago, growing by a total of 5.9%.

In spite of the recent spike, the price of canned vegetables has not increased nearly as much as the typical grocery item over the past decade. Even with the 6.4% price increase from February to June 2020, canned vegetables are just 12.3% more expensive as compared to a decade ago. Comparatively, the typical grocery item was 18.9% more expensive in June 2020 than in February 2010.

Dried beans, peas, and lentils are one of just nine types of groceries that have increased in price by more than 7% since the beginning of the pandemic in the U.S. Americans bought over 200% more dried beans so far in 2020 than they did over the same period in 2019, and this increased demand led to higher prices. Like many of the other groceries on this list, dried beans, peas, and lentils can be stored for long periods of time, and Americans have been more likely to buy these kinds of items during the pandemic.

Peanut butter is one of several shelf-stable, non-perishable grocery items that have become significantly more expensive since the COVID-19 pandemic reached the United States. Through the beginning of 2020, the price of peanut butter had been in decline for seven years. But between February 2020 and June 2020, the price rose by 7.9%.

The prices of many groceries on this list spiked because of increased demand, but not all. Some groceries, including many meats like ham, increased in prices because of issues with supply. A number of U.S. meat and poultry plants have closed in recent months because of COVID-19 outbreaks, limiting production, which led to increased prices. Ham was 8.7% more expensive in June than it was in February, nearly double the 4.5% price increase of all foods that are prepared in the home.

Though potatoes have had the eighth highest price increase of any grocery item since February, the spike in price may not be due to COVID-19. Potato prices ebb and flow with the seasons, typically peaking in August and hitting their lowest point of the year in December. Though potato prices are cyclical, prices over the past decade have increased more than all food item prices during that time. Potatoes were 36.4% more expensive in June 2020 than they were in February 2010, as compared to the 18.9% increase to the typical grocery item.

Even before the pandemic reached the United States, Frankfurter prices were rising, increasing in price by 28.2% from February 2010 to February 2020, Well above the comparable 19.3% increase in prices for all grocery items. Like many other meat products, frankfurters were much more expensive in June than they were in February of 2020. Production at a number of meat production plants stalled because of COVID-19 outbreaks.

Chicken is one of just four grocery items that have gotten more than 9% more expensive amid the pandemic. The nation’s chicken supply has been hampered as meat processors at several locations contracted COVID-19, forcing plant closures. This decreased supply, amid spiking demand, led to a 9.4% increase in chicken prices from February 2020 to June 2020.

The reason that almost every item on this list is increasing in price can be directly tied to COVID-19 — whether people are stocking up on the food because it is non-perishable or because the pandemic has interrupted supply. Citrus fruits, however, are an exception. Citrus fruits prices tend to start increasing around March each year because of seasonality. The over 10% increase in price for citrus fruits from February to June of 2020 is not uncommon. Citrus fruits tend to peak in price around September-October and bottom out around March, when most varieties are no longer in season.

Pork chops were nearly 20% more expensive in June 2020 than they were four months prior. Like many other meat products on this list, the supply of pork was impacted by the pandemic, when workers at meat processing plants fell ill with the virus and production was halted.

Beef and veal had by far the largest percentage price increase of any grocery product so far throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, spiking by 22.7% from February to June 2020. For comparison, the typical grocery item increased by 4.5% during that time.

Even before the pandemic, the price of beef and veal had increased by more than double the percentage increase of the typical grocery item since 2010. Once meat production plants were shut down due to workers contracting COVID-19, meat and veal prices spiked even more. The price of beef and veal was 79.2% higher in June 2020 than it was February 2010 even as the typical grocery item increased by just 18.9% in that time.