Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen dismisses notion of ‘sticker shock’ in US grocery stores — despite food prices soaring by 25% since pre-COVID

“I sure have, I go every week,” Yellen replied.

“It’s sticker shock isn’t it?” Schonberger prompted — at which point, Yellen can be heard muttering “No” — while the Yahoo reporter continued: “When you look at shipping costs, those have come down, global food commodity prices have also come down, but food prices still remain high.”

Here’s what the Treasury Secretary had to say about food price inflation, while millions of Americans are struggling to fund their weekly grocery bills and feed their families.

Food price inflation

Average food at home prices increased by 1.1% in the 12 months through June and 0.1% from the previous month, according to the latest inflation data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Four of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased over the month. The cost of butter and margarine rose 2.4%, dairy and related products rose 0.6%, and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs increased by 0.2%.

Schonberger prompted Yellen: “I know they [food prices] are not rising at the rate that they were last year, but they’re still up 20% from pre-COVID.”

According to FRED Economic Data, the average food at home prices in the U.S. have soared by 25.4% since January 2020 (before the pandemic-related disruption).

The data speaks volumes, and Yellen said it largely reflects cost increases, including labor cost increases, that grocery firms have experienced. "Although there may be some increases in margins," she added.

She assured her interviewer that grocery store execs are aware of the financial pain that Americans are experiencing. She told Schonberger she’d met with a group of grocery store CEOs — including the head honcho of Target, Brian Cornell — before the interview.

“They explained and they've announced that they understand that households are struggling with costs, including food costs, and they’ve undertaken cuts in the price of bread, milk, diapers [and] other core purchases that are necessities for households,” she said. “I think that’s to be applauded. I think that kind of thing is helpful.”