Eggs More Precious Than Filet Mignon As Florida Food Prices Soar

FLORIDA — As a result of inflation, the national online marketplace LendingTree said food prices are skyrocketing and Americans are struggling to afford groceries, including Florida where food prices are the eighth highest in the nation.

A study by LendingTree found that Floridians spend 16.4 percent of their income on groceries.

LendingTree analyzed data from the USDA to determine how food prices have changed from January 2022 to January 2023. It also analyzed U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey and the U.S. Census American Community Survey data to estimate where people spend the largest percentage of their income on food prepared and eaten at home.

Here’s a quick look at what LendingTree found:

• Florida residents spend the eighth largest percentage of their income on groceries. Households in the Sunshine State spend 16.4 percent of their income, or $282 a week, on food prepared and eaten at home.
• Mississippi residents spend the largest percentage of their income on food at home. Americans in Mississippi spend an average of $264 a week on food at home. With an average household income of $68,048, the lowest in the country, households in the state spend an average of 20.2 percent of their income on this food, followed by West Virginia (19.6 percent) and Louisiana (18.6 percent).
• Overall, U.S. households spend an average of $260 a week on food prepared and eaten at home. With the average household income in the U.S. at $97,962, that means households spend an average of 13.8 percent of their income on food at home, according to our analysis of Census Bureau data.
• Americans are seeing increased pressure on their food budgets. Chicken costs are up 9.5 percent year over year, while fruits and vegetables are 10.9 percent more costly. Separately, the price of a dozen large white eggs has soared 141.8 percent in the same period.
• Beef prices have bucked these trends. In the past year, beef costs are down 2 percent. Filet mignon has seen the biggest drop (50.1 percent), from $19.01 a pound last year to $9.49 this year.
• Organic food prices are rising quicker than their conventional counterparts. Organic chicken costs 19.5 percent more than a year ago, compared with a 5.9 percent bump in conventional chicken costs. The same is seen with fruits and vegetables. Organic fruits and vegetables costs are up 13.1 percent over the past year, while conventional costs are up 9.9 percent.
• District of Columbia residents spend the lowest percentage of their income on food at home. Households in D.C. spend an average of 8.1 percent of their income on food, ahead of Massachusetts (10.6 percent) and Connecticut (11.1 percent).

LendingTree said eggs have become the new food luxury item at the grocery store checkout line, but they’re not the only product with a rising price tag.

Boneless breasts (skinless/marinated) have risen from $3.39 a pound to $5.46 a pound, a 61.1 percent increase.

A whole bag roaster has risen from $1.02 a pound to $1.53 a pound, a 50 percent increase.

Organic strawberries have gone up from $3.08 per 1-pound package to $9.99, a 224.4 percent increase.

Mustard greens and turnip greens, once staples in the Southern households watching their budgets, made a dramatic leap in price. Mustard greens rose from 77 cents a bunch to $2.14 a bunch, a 177.9 percent increase. Turnip greens rose from 77 cents a bunch to $1.99, a 158.4 percent increase.

There's good news for advocates of the paleo (or cavemen) diet.

Ground beef has gone down 21.2 percent from $5.57 a pound to $4.47 a pound, a 21.2 percent decrease.

Bone-in ribeye roasts decreased 48.7 percent from $9.72 per pound to $4.99 a pound.

Bone-in ribeye steaks went down from $11.37 a pound to $7.14 a pound, a 37.2 percent decrease.

See the full study, How Much Americans Spend on Groceries.