Some Grocery Prices Start To Level Off

High grocery costs have put a strain on family wallets. 

For John Proell, a customer at Dean’s Supermarket in downtown Osseo, those high costs are a burden wherever he’s shopping.

“We’ve got apples, oranges and bananas,” he told CCX News on Monday, Nov. 18. “And that seems to be pretty expensive, you know, wherever you go. I don’t want to say it’s any more here. I happened to be in the area so I thought I’d stop here — I do once in a while. We could run to Cub, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be any better.”

He’s one of many customers that Dean’s manager Trisha Bishman says are tired of the high prices.

“We definitely get people saying that prices have gone up quite a bit,” she said. “A lot of them, maybe double. They just don’t get as much for their money. Yeah, we get that a lot.”

She says Dean’s suppliers started raising their prices in 2022.

“I feel like prices have kind of stabilized since then,” Bishman said. “We’re still seeing certain items go up, like eggs, and pop seems to be one that has gone up and up.”

She said those cost increases are beyond the store’s control.

“We’re definitely not price gouging, you know, it’s not anything that we’re doing,” she said. “I think all grocery stores are in the same boat, you know?”

According to Dean’s Supermarket manager Trisha Bishman, most grocery prices have stabilized. However, the cost for eggs and soda continue to rise.

For Bertha Rodriguez, a single mother living in Brooklyn Park, the high costs mean cutting back.

“Now it’s more like the needs instead of like, the wants,” she said. “It’s really hard … it’s kind of hard to get by.”

Instead of cooking authentic ethnic meals, she’s leaned on less expensive, simple foods to feed her family.

“I’m Hispanic, and we tend to eat more authentic food, Mexican food,” she said. “Instead, it’s more like, okay, now we’re going to do a sandwich, or we’re just going to throw in a pizza.”

Amid these difficulties, experts hope that price tags will drop.

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis says grocery inflation dropping from its 13.5 percent peak in 2022 to pre-pandemic levels.

Likewise, the Adobe Price Index says online grocery costs had their first drop since 2020.

While those changes haven’t show up in local stores, customers like Proell are hopeful they’ll see lower costs in the checkout line.

“I look forward to something new, like a little better deal,” he said.

Osseo