Why Are Grocery Store Prices So High

About this episode

<p>According to the Economic Research Service at the Department of Agriculture, prices across all food categories are expected to rise 3.2 percent in 2026.</p> <p>Today, Jessica Cheung, a senior audio producer for “The Daily,” talks with the general manager of a food co-op in Pittsburgh about how the store is being affected by the quickly increasing costs.</p> <p>Guest: </p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/jessica-cheung" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Jessica Cheung</strong></a>, a senior audio producer on “The Daily” for The New York Times.</li> <li>Tyler Kulp, general manager of the <a href="https://linktr.ee/eastendfoodcoop" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">East End Food Co-op</a></li> </ul> <p>Background reading: </p> <ul> <li>Walmart said last week that it would lower some prices. While shoppers there and at other grocery stores may get better deals on some items, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/business/grocery-stores-lower-food-prices.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">their overall grocery bill is unlikely to fall</a>.</li> <li>In a survey, roughly 35 percent of Americans identified <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/27/opinion/grocery-prices-inflation.html?searchResultPosition=3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">food as the single biggest source of financial pressure</a>.</li> <li>A U.S.D.A. official called grocery chains to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/white-house-pressures-top-u-s-grocers-on-beef-prices-ae7f4822?st=k1rgUF&reflink=article_copyURL_share" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lower the price of beef.</a></li> </ul> <p>Photo: Rachel Wisniewski for The New York Times</p> <p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" rel="noopener noreferrer">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p> <p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>