Grocery Prices Jump 11% in NYC

By Yehudit Garmaise

It is not just your imagination: grocery prices have increased by 11% in New York City, according to the latest data from Datasembly’s Grocery Price Index.

2022’s second quarter, which is April to June, showed the second-highest increase since October 2019, before the start of the pandemic, Bloomberg reported.

New York City saw an 11.3% rise in produce, 11.5% in snacks, cookies and chips, and 9.5% in beverages, according to Datasembly.

While grocery prices have spiked nationwide, New York City, San Francisco, and many cities in the southeast, such as Atlanta, Georgia, are seeing the highest price increases.

To get tips on how to spend less money at grocery stores, BoroPark24 spoke to Masbia’s Executive Director Alexander Rappaport, who said that shoppers should try to focus on buying simpler foods that require the least amount of labor and shipping to get to store shelves. 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the US has suffered a labor shortage because immigrants, who usually provide cheap labor, were not allowed into the country Rappaport pointed out.

Because labor and shipping are now scarce and expensive, price-conscious consumers can try to bake more at home to avoid buying groceries, such as bread and other labor-intensive foods that require a lot of preparation and transportation.

“Anything fresh needs to be shipped constantly, which requires labor that hikes prices,” pointed out Rappaport. “Shelf-stable foods that require the least amount of labor to be ready-to-eat will be the cheapest right now.”