Question

Grocery prices in the United States have gone down

Answer 1

1. Overall Summary of Findings

This claim is false. Grocery store (food-at-home) prices in the U.S. have not gone down overall. They are still rising year-over-year, though the rate of increase has slowed significantly from recent peaks. So while some individual item prices may fall, groceries broadly are still more expensive than a year ago.

---

2. Primary Sources

• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) — “Food at home” index: The index increased by 2.7% over the 12 months ending September 2025. Bureau of Labor Statistics+2Bureau of Labor Statistics+2

• United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service (USDA ERS) “Food Price Outlook”: Reports food-at-home prices are projected to increase ~2.4% in 2025, not decrease. Economic Research Service

• Federal Reserve FRED data: The CPI for “Food at Home” in U.S. City Average shows the index rising from ~312.659 in July 2025 to ~315.489 in September 2025. FRED

---

3. Secondary Sources

• Restaurant Economic Insights (via National Restaurant Association) – “Menu Prices” article: States grocery prices (food at home) rose 0.3% in September and 2.7% year-over-year — clearly not a decrease. NRA

• Time Magazine – “Here’s Why So Many Grocery Store Staples Are So Expensive” (2023) – Gives background on how grocery prices surged and why many items remain elevated. TIME

---

Answer 2

As much as I'd love for this to be true, the opposite seems to be true. The primary reason grocery prices would have gone down would have been some kind of change the Trump Administration has made. At least that's the primary argument and claim that Trump made. As seen on MSN Trump proclaims grocery prices 'rapidly down' as food costs hit 3-year high. When in reality, studies around the country are showing a steady increase in grocery prices since the beginning of this administration. Studies include the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' average price data on common groceries. Average price data (in U.S. dollars), selected items. As well as the CBS news price tracker for this year. CBS News price tracker shows how much food, gas, utility and housing costs are rising - CBS News. Of course, individual chains and local food marketers will likely not have seen such a drastic change. However, larger chains such as Walmart and PepsiCo have been given the opportunity to use Inflation techniques because of this wave. How Walmart And Pepsico Rigged Prices And Supercharged Food Inflation. Overall, there are clear signs of grocery price increases since the Trump Administration, and different chains are taking advantage of this change to increase prices even further. Thus, this claim is False.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, this claim seems to be false. Though recently (as of 12/06/25), Donald Trump has signed an executive order to "stop price fixing, anti-competitive behavior, and foreign influence that drives up grocery prices and threatens the security of America’s food supply." (White House), food prices have risen. According to the USDA Economic Research Service, the grocery store CPI (consumer price index) increased 0.4 percent from July 2025 to August 2025 and was 2.7 percent higher than in August 2024. The USDA's Food Price Outlook actively negates your claim- in fact, it argues the opposite, with special emphasis on the rise of prices of beef, veal, and egg prices. In 2026, prices for all food are predicted to increase 2.7 percent, further disproving your claim that grocery prices have gone down.

Sources: 

https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-price-outlook/summary-findings

https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/12/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-addresses-security-risks-from-price-fixing-and-anti-competitive-behavior-in-the-food-supply-chain/

Answer 4

The claim states that grocery prices in the United States have gone down. To verify this, I looked at data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index and reporting from Reuters and the Associated Press. Inflation caused food prices to increase sharply during 2022 and 2023, according to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But during 2024, inflation has moderated, and a slight decrease or slowdown in price increase has been noticed for some food categories, although most food prices are still substantially higher than before the inflation era, as stated in a report published by Reuters, with reduced food inflation, but food prices substantially higher than before the pandemic, which means that people are now paying a higher price than before. But this is misleading. Grocery price inflation has cooled, and some items have slightly lowered in price, but overall, the United States' grocery prices have just not "gone down" in any meaningful way from previous years. Prices still remain far higher than pre-inflation levels, meaning most consumers are not experiencing cheaper groceries.