According to an article published in Amber Waves, 2016 marked the first time in nearly 50 years that grocery store (food-at-home) prices were lower than those in the prior year. In 2016, retail food prices decreased by 1.3%, as many food categories saw declining year-over-year prices, including beef and veal, pork, poultry, eggs, and dairy.
Looking at the last 50 years of Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for food-at-home reveals that retail food prices have, on average, risen 4% annually. However, the degree of the price change varied over time. High inflation in the 1970s—price increases as large as 16.4% and 14.9% in 1973 and 1974—were precipitated by food commodity and energy price shocks.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, prices increased at levels well below the historical average in 2009 (0.5%) and 2010 (0.3%), as the recession put downward pressure on prices for many goods, including food. The last year that retail food prices did not increase over those of the previous year was 1967, when food-at-home prices fell 0.3% below 1966 levels.
Retail prices did not fall for all food categories in 2016. For example, fresh vegetable prices remained flat and consumers paid more for fresh fruits (2.2%).