Maine isn’t the most expensive place to buy groceries, but it’s close. It ranks third, behind Hawaii and Massachusetts, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
The labor report cites a combination of inflation, pandemic-related supply-chain disruptions and tariffs on certain foreign imports as factors that have driven a steady rise to the cost of food.
For a lot of shoppers in Maine, that has meant leaving the store feeling like they are spending more money but coming home with fewer items. Depending on their shopping habits and what they are buying, they are not wrong. The numbers hit home when looking at identical shopping lists and receipts two years apart from this week in September between 2021 and 2023.
Statewide, groceries have gone up an average of 26.4 percent since 2021, slightly less than the national jump of 27.3 percent.
Two years ago, according to their online grocery order in Bangor, a family of four spent $208.22 for a week’s worth of groceries. That same order today would come to $242.03, a 16.25 percent increase.
A single person buying the exact same things at the same time in Bangor spent $84.11. Repeating the order now cost an additional $25.95, a more than 30 percent jump.
The most notable increases were in canned tuna, up by $1.60 for a package of four 5-ounce cans, Greek yogurt by 30 cents for 5.3 ounces, low-fat cottage cheese by $1 for 16 ounces, pre-packaged turkey meatballs by $3 for a 14-ounce package, fat-free turkey tenderloins by $3 a pound and an 18-pack of 12-ounce Gatorade Zero by $8.38.
“Prices go up every year,” said Mark Kelly, past president of the Maine Grocers and Food Producers Association. “But the last five years have seen the biggest changes, period.”
Kelly owns and operates Farmers Market in Washburn, so he’s on the front lines of the food price changes. While his customers are not happy with things going up in cost, Kelly said they are not pointing fingers at him.
“People are almost expecting [price increases] and are not blaming us,” Kelly said. “So everyone is looking for a deal and when stuff is on sale, it sells well.”
In terms of what specific items or categories of items are going up according to the online shopping list comparisons, the most dramatic price jumps were for poultry —- fresh and deli meats — bread, canned tuna, pasta, packaged dinners, dairy and pet food.
But that limited snapshot of trends can be misleading, Kelly said.
“The biggest thing is you can spend something this week for an item and see a big difference in price the next week,” he said. “The trends are very trendy.”
From year to year those trends seem to track in one direction.
“I’ve been doing this for 15 years and everything goes up every year,” Kelly said. “It never goes back down.”
One thing that is going down is the bang for grocery bucks as companies downsize products.
Commonly called “shrinkflation,” it’s the practice of keeping a specific item’s packaging the same apparent size but putting less of the product in it and not reducing the price.
Shrinkflation is why consumers may be going through rolls of toilet paper or paper towels faster than a few years ago or noticing fewer tortilla chips in a bag.
Seven ounces used to be the standard size for a can of tuna. Today it’s hard to find anything above 5 ounces. A 5-ounce can of Bumblebee solid white albacore tuna costs $4.44 today. It’s been more than a decade since it was available in a 7-ounce can, but the last time it was, that can cost $1.25.
“There’s no such thing as a gallon of ice cream anymore,” Kelly said. “It’s all 59 ounces.”
It all adds up for consumers in Maine.
If there is any good news for consumers, it’s that according to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, inflation is slowing down and the cost of groceries are not rising as dramatically as they did during the pandemic.
