The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts food prices will rise 3.1% for the remainder of 2026 and into 2027. And as the costs of a full grocery cart go up, Utahns are swapping out items and shopping around.
“Your basics have escalated,” said American Fork resident Kalani Padeken. “The quality of what you're getting seems to have gone down as well.”
Padeken was out shopping with her daughter, the cart filled with some of her weekly haul as she walked to her car. She said she’s noticed the rising prices in fruits and vegetables the most, and recognized that Utah’s rough growing season didn’t help.
“I mean that that hit us pretty hard this year. So any stone fruit that I've bought, any apples, any peaches, that kind of thing. I have noticed a higher price on those,” Padeken said. “We're kind of just at the mercy of the weather.”
While she doesn’t mind shopping at her local Macey’s, Padeken tries to shop around to accommodate her finances, like hitting up Costco for bulk items and Rancho Market for deals on fresh fruits and vegetables.
“We do have to go around, but then you're also looking at the cost of gas to do that,” she said.
The same can be said for farmers trying to get their products on shelves. Dave Davis is president and CEO of the Utah Food Industry Association, the trade group that represents Utah’s grocers and suppliers. He said fuel prices are driving costs up for everyone.
When prices go up, Davis said, it’s usually because of weather and diseases affecting livestock and farms. Gasoline is just another variable.
“Those are commodities, and so by their very nature, they’re subject to these sort of externalities that make them go up and down and up and down,” Davis said.
He used an example from last year, when egg prices skyrocketed because of avian flu. Months later, those prices have dropped significantly.
Meanwhile, other prices, like beef, are rising. Right now, the Western region’s average for ground beef sits at nearly $7 per pound.
Davis said drought conditions have made feed, like alfalfa, more expensive. There’s also a national cattle shortage that has led to the closure of a Tyson Foods plant in Eagle Mountain.
All these fluctuations at high levels eventually inform what’s on Utahns’ plates and where they’re shopping.
Among shoppers, Rancho Market is a place for advertised affordable prices on produce and meats. But shopper Eva Salazar-Perez, who buys for herself and her mom, said using less beef was still her biggest switch.
“It's more expensive now, especially beef. Anything that's beef, ground beef, whatever. Not as often anymore. [I] Go more with chicken and just cheaper meats.”
Chelsea Silva, a stay-at-home mom and piano instructor in Weber County, said beef has become a special occasion meal. When they do have it, it’s for birthdays.
“I think of the Elinor Dashwood in ‘Sense and Sensibility’ a lot,” Silva said. “Where her mom is like, ‘You want us to starve? And she says, ‘No, I just don’t want you to eat beef.”
If Silva uses it for dinner, it's often ground beef and mixed with beans to create a more budget-friendly meal.
“My husband’s Brazilian and we do love our beans and rice,” she said.
Silva realizes that grocery fluctuations are ongoing, but she’s finding creative ways to feed her family. Sometimes the struggle can be making sure she’s adding nutritional value to her budget meals.
She prioritizes frozen fruits and vegetables that are cheaper than fresh produce. A fan favorite for her 7-year-old is pancakes. Silva adds flax seeds to them for extra fiber.
Her weekly grocery routine is planned in advance, as she prepares to visit at least three stores in one go to maximize their budget. She's also shopping at stores like NPS, which offers discounted prices on packaged food, eggs and other frozen goods nearing expiration.
“Being a little flexible with those dates lets us fit a lot more into our budget.”
