Grocery prices not yet to go down in the US

Question

This claim looks to be false as grocery prices have not seem to have gone down in the United States. NPR states that there have been huge jumps ever since the pandemic as well as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As of August 2025, prices went up 29 percent for the past five years. A customer on The Guardian stated that regular items she buys have a constant increase. She had to increase her family's budget while decreasing her shopping list. Another customer simply mentions how they are rarely shopping at their supermarket and changing to wholesale due to this. Trump had initially promised that he would lower grocery store prices if elected but that never came true as Trump’s tariffs have put an increase on many supplies like clothes, groceries and even appliances. The USDA predicts that in 2026, prices for all food will increase 2.7 percent. For many years there has been a slight increase on foods but right now, we are living in a time where inflation just keeps getting worse and buying groceries has been a huge struggle for US citizens.

Answer 1

I have found this claim to be true. Despite Trump's continuous false claims that the prices for groceries have gone down, the truth is very much the opposite. According to an article posted by CNN, the "average grocery prices in September were about 2.7% higher than they were a year prior and about 1.4% higher than they were in January, the month Trump returned to office." This shows exactly that the claims Trump has been making are false, but let's look at more evidence that supports the claim of grocery prices not going down to be true.

In a graphic from NBC News, it is shown that over this past year (October 4th 2024 to October 12th 2025) the prices of meat specifically have increased. For example, fresh ground beef per pound has increased by $0.81 and bacon per pound has increased by $0.49. This data is collected from real checkout prices paid nationwide at a numerous of different stores. Similarly, looking at consumerism as a whole according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is seen that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) "for All Urban Consumers rose 0.3 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.0 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy increases 0.2 percent in September (SA); up 3.0 percent of the year (NSA)." All of these sources are credible while the news outlets (CNN and NBC News) lean more left on the Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart.

In an article produced by NPR, they interviewed a woman who works at a bank and is concerned about her paychecks not matching the rate of the rising cost of food, "sometimes I'll skip breakfast and then just have lunch and dinner so that I don't have to buy another meal." This real life testimony supports the claim that the prices of groceries and food increasing is affecting real life people. I tried reaching out to the Trump administration to get a comment on the false claims from the president but received no response. 

Answer 2

Trump's promise to lower food costs has definitely not been upheld. The steady increase in cost of basic groceries in the US has continued its upward trend since COVID-19. Average grocery prices rose 0.3% from August to September, according to Consumer Price Index figures released Friday. That increase followed a 0.6% jump from July to August, which was the biggest month-to-month jump in three years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics food prices in the US have gone up 3.1% in the last 12 months. The promise to lower food costs was a big part of Trump's 2024 campaign, promising that if elected he would lower costs. The average price of eggs — a frequent stand-in for inflation during the campaign — had declined from its peak in the spring and has come back down to prices last seen last November. However, average orange juice prices are up 10% and ground beef prices are up 7% from where those were a year ago. So, other than eggs going down since last year (but still above their prices a few years ago), prices of groceries and food have been at a steady increase here in the states.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/24/politics/fact-check-grocery-prices-trump

https://www.bls.gov/cpi/

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm

https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/grocery-price-tracker-inflation-trends-eggs-bread-trump-administration-rcna239569

Answer 3

The sources used in this article are good. The first from NPR is a good article that is an interview that does not have much bias in there. NPR is relatively neutral, and this article is not touching partisan arguments, just stating facts. There might be a slight left bias, but I don't think it changes that article. The price of groceries is rising and not going down. I also like the article from the Guardian; it is more real-world testimony on the subject. Getting more voices is a good tactic to gain the readers' trust. The third source is a great closer because of the fact that it is a government website, and we can clearly see which way our government is leaning when you see that ad on this page blaming the democrats for the government shutdown. But the page itself does a good job of setting the scene and rooting the argument in facts. On the page, you can clearly read and see that the prices are going up and they are not likely to go down anytime especially with all the political turmoil. https://doggett.house.gov/issues/trumps-economic-promises-timeline

In the above link is a list of all the campaign promises that Trump made on the path to the election. A Democratic representative of the house created this so that has to be taken into account. But it does include that he said that price would go down on everything this and they are not.

Here is another article supporting this argument.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-weird-claims-grocery-prices-are-self-defeating-lies-rcna239338

Answer 4

At this point in time, the claim "grocery prices have not yet gone down in the U.S." is mostly accurate, given the proper context. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service states that grocery prices went up by about 24 percent from January 2020 to January 2023. This was driven by the pandemic's supply issues and high production costs. Since then, inflation has slowed but is not yet reversing. This is seen in more data from the ERS, where they state that grocery prices went up by approximately 5.8 percent in 2023 and only 1.2 percent in 2024. In mid-2025, the all-food CPI was up 3 percent. According to the USDA ERS, grocery prices are expected to rise by an additional 2 percent in 2025 and 1.6 percent in 2026. So, the claim that grocery prices haven't gone down is supported, but it is misleading to imply that inflation is still extreme.

https://ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2025/june/food-price-inflation-slowed-in-2023-and-2024

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

Answer 5

This claim, "Grocery prices not yet to go down in the US," is true. CNN, says Trump says that they are going "way down," but this is false. According to CNN, "Average grocery prices in September were about 2.7% higher than they were a year prior and about 1.4% higher than they were in January, the month Trump returned to the office." CNN has won numerous journalism honors throughout the years, including several News and Documentary Emmy Awards. 

 

A secondary source that also confirms this claim is NBC. NBC talks about how the crisis in Ukraine, supply chain bottlenecks, and excessive profit-taking in America have all contributed to rising grocery costs during the last five years. NBC is a valid source because with fact-checking, editorial control, and a wide audience, it is a prominent national news organization in the United States. This lends some weight to its conclusions in public debate.

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/24/politics/fact-check-grocery-prices-trump

https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/grocery-price-tracker-inflation-trends-eggs-bread-trump-administration-rcna239569

Answer 6

As of October 2025, grocery prices in the United States have not yet gone down, in fact, they continue to rise slightly. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the "food at home" index increased by 0.3% from August to September and was 2.7% higher than the same month last year (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis show a similar trend, with the index climbing from 312.7 in July to 315.5 in September (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis). The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service also reports moderate but ongoing inflation in grocery prices (United States Department of Agriculture). While a few categories, like eggs and some produce, have seen small price drops, overall grocery costs remain high and are still rising. So, if "going down" to Trump means a general decline in prices across the board, that hasn't happened yet, making the claim true.

Sources:

Bureau of Labor Statistics. CPI News Release: September 2025. U.S. Department of Labor, 2025.                                                                                        https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. “CUSR0000SAF11 Food at Home (SA, Index 2018 = 100).” FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Sept. 2025. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CUSR0000SAF11

United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. “Food Price Outlook: Summary Findings.” USDA ERS, 25 Sept. 2025. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-price-outlook/summary-findings