If you feel like grocery costs have gotten out of control, you're not alone.
A study has shown that more than 40% of families with children can't afford their food needs in America's largest city.
What's happening?
In November, nonprofit Robin Hood released its annual study on food costs and hardship in New York City.
The organization found that steep increases in food prices have made it hard for a large number of people to afford their basic needs — even more so than during the coronavirus pandemic.
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💡Martie makes it easy to find quality food at massive discounts while helping to fight food waste
Since 2015, the study found, food prices in the New York metro area have increased by 33%. As a result, 36% of adults say they need more money to meet their food needs. That's up from 29% before the pandemic, or an increase of roughly 440,000 adults.
Nearly one in seven New Yorkers used a food pantry in 2024, the study found. These numbers were higher among communities of color, immigrants, and women than in other groups.
"Even in the height, the early months of the pandemic when the need skyrocketed, we are just exponentially above those numbers of the pandemic," Gregory Silverman, CEO of the West Side Campaign Against Hunger, told CBS News in a report about the study. "So we've never seen anything like this."
Why is this concerning?
There's an obvious cost as food prices increase. Even if you can still afford your weekly groceries, you've undoubtedly noticed that they have become more expensive, and that money could be put to use in other ways.
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But as more people struggle to keep their refrigerators and pantries full, it also shines a spotlight on how much food gets wasted and thrown out.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 30% to 40% of food is wasted each year, at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars. This number increases during the holiday season, when people often intentionally buy and cook more food than their gatherings require.
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Saving money 💰 Fortunately, several companies, such as Martie, are working to reduce food waste in the U.S.
What can I do about rising food costs?
Each of us can take steps to waste less food and keep costs down.
Planning your meals and making a grocery list before shopping helps you avoid those spur-of-the-moment purchases that add up at the register and could end up going bad before you eat them. Storing food in your freezer can help it last longer, keeping it out of the trash.
For those who want to shop smarter, Martie offers significant discounts on groceries and other essentials, including beauty products and home goods.
By taking the surplus inventory of big-name brands, Martie keeps these high-quality items from going to waste and offers them to you at up to 80% off.
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