Food prices inched up during the month of March, according to the most recent nclick="javascript:window.open('https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm', '_blank', 'noopener'); return false;">CPI report, increasing 0.1% following no change in February.

Food at home

The food at home index again showed no change during the month of March. Half of the main food group indexes increased during this time, while the other half decreased. The index for cereals and bakery products experienced a 0.9% decrease – the largest seasonally adjusted one-month decline reported in the series. Meanwhile, the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs saw the largest increase at 0.9%.

Price changes for the other major grocery store groups included:

• Nonalcoholic beverages: +0.3% (-0.2% in February)
• Fruits and vegetables: +0.1% (-0.2% in February)
• Dairy and related products: -0.1% (-0.6% in February)
• Other food at home: -0.5% (unchanged in February)

The food at home index increased 1.2% over the past year. The nonalcoholic beverages index saw the largest increase at 2.4% over the year, and the only decrease was seen in the dairy and related products index, which dropped 1.9%.

Food away from home

The food away from home index went up 0.3% in March. This comes after a 0.1% increase in February. The index for limited service meals rose 0.3%, and the index for full service meals went up 0.2%. This comes after 0.1% increases for both indexes in February.

During the past 12 months, the food away from home index has gone up 4.2%. The index for limited services meals saw a 5.0% increase, and the index for full service meals saw a 3.2% increase.