Food prices spike again, grocery pressure remains high

Food prices jumped 0.7% in December, the largest one-month increase since October 2022. Compared with a year earlier, overall food prices were up 3.1%, with grocery prices rising 2.4%. The increase stands out as overall inflation held steady at the end of 2025, making food costs a growing political challenge for President Trump, who campaigned on lowering prices. While egg prices fell 8.2% last month, costs rose for fruits and vegetables, coffee, cereal, baked goods and beef, with beef prices up more than 16% year over year.