A new survey finds that around a quarter of Americans could be skipping meals in response to rising grocery costs.
The survey, conducted in May by Qualtrics on behalf of Intuit Credit Karma, found that 27% of 2,011 adult respondents reported going hungry from time to time in order to save money on food.
According to Nerd Wallet, food prices have risen 26% since the start of 2020, while the consumer price index (CPI) shows that grocery prices have remained steady and painfully high.
Further survey findings revealed that 80% of respondents had noticed the increase in grocery costs within the last few years, and 32% said they spent more than 60% of their income on essential expenses.
“Food insecurity is a major issue in this country as millions of Americans don’t have enough food to eat or don’t have access to healthy food,” Courtney Alev, a consumer financial advocate for Credit Karma, said in a news release.
“Over these past few years, a rise in costs for food and household staples have put American households in precarious situations, especially low-earning households who have families to feed. While we’re seeing early signs of inflation relief for food, Americans are still facing rising costs for other necessities such as rent and gasoline, which could be counteracting their journey toward financial stability.”
Some consumers even make sacrifices just to get groceries. The survey found that 28% of respondents reported going without other necessities to eat. A considerable share of survey-takers have either considered applying or have already applied for food stamps (18%), or are relying solely on food banks or have considered doing so (15%).
The good news is that the rising cost of food appears to be slowing. Nerd Wallet reports an estimated uptick in food production costs — which trickle down to the consumer — of 3.8% this year.
Although the CPI remains hot, another measure, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, shows cooling.
Regarding the overall inflation rate for the rest of the year, some economists hope to hit the 2% mark by the end of the year. However, most believe that won’t happen until 2025 or even 2026, according to a quarterly poll by Bankrate.