11 Grocery Items That Just Got More Expensive—And Prices Are Still Climbing

If your grocery bills seem to have changed for the worse since a year ago, you're not imagining it—prices have gone up 23.6% since 2020 and 2.5% from December 2023 to December 2024, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index (CPI). There was also a sharp 0.5% rise in prices from December to January, the most significant increase since August 2023. As a result, everyday staple items have become more expensive, and are predicted to continue going up in price in 2025, according to the USDA. Here are 11 grocery items you are paying more for in 2025, compared to a month ago.

Eggs

The recent avian flu virus wreaked destruction on the price and availability of eggs, with the culling of thousands of birds causing an ongoing problem that will certainly get worse before it gets better. According to the CPI data, egg prices are up 53% since this time last year and up 15.2% in January alone, accounting for two thirds of the total monthly "food at home" increase.

Bacon

Aside from eggs, are your other breakfast foods suddenly more expensive? It turns out bacon is up 4.1% from December to January, data shows. "When you're looking at the data, it's the breakfast items that stand out," David Ortega, a food economics professor at Michigan State University," tells USA Today. "But there are still inflationary pressures across the various food categories."

Instant Coffee

Considering how expensive it is to eat at restaurants and cafes, no one would be surprised to hear coffee is going up in price—but even instant coffee prices are up a whopping 4.4%. Environmental issues are hitting the supply chain hard, and consumers are paying the price. "As the long-term climate changes, these weather conditions are far more likely to hit extremes and cause losses in coffee yields as well as volatility to coffee production," Jeffrey Sachs, a sustainable economist at Columbia University, told NBC News.

Frozen Juice

Orange juice with fresh oranges — Shutterstock

CPI data shows frozen juice products are up 5.3%, a continuing trend thanks to a severe shortage of citrus crops and juice available. "The concern isn't just that the price of juice is going up. The concern is not having the juice," Oscar Simonetti, an orange farmer in Mogi Guacu, Brazil, told AP.

Margarine

Even humble margarine is up 3.6%, even while butter prices have dropped by 0.1%. Vegetable oils such as palm, soybean and sunflower are necessary to make margarine, and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine is severely impacting the food chain. "And as supply decreases, as it has, you're going to see prices go up," John Sandbakken, executive director at the National Sunflower Association, told CBS MoneyWatch. "It might be a while, honestly, before prices come down."

Uncooked Beef

The price for uncooked beef is up 2.8%, thanks to huge demand that outstrips supply. "My last year of 4-H, I got grand champion steer at Pettis County and sold it for 50¢ … I think it was 55¢ or 57¢ a pound. After the sale was over, people came up to me and said you'll never see that again. Now prices are over three bucks a pound," LaMonte, Missouri cow-calf producer Pat Wood told Drovers.com.

Olives and Pickles

Olives, pickles, and relishes are up 2.7%, again thanks to supply and demand issues. "The spike in olive oil prices is largely due to two consecutive poor harvests in Spain, the world's largest producer, compounded by widespread crop failures across the Mediterranean last year, due to adverse weather conditions," Panos Manuelides, Greek and Mediterranean fine food importer, told The Times. "Although an improved harvest this year may offer some relief, prices are unlikely to return to previous levels, especially considering factors such as critically low water reserves in Greece."

Cookies

The price of cookies is up 2%, according to the new data. Even Girl Scout cookies couldn't avoid the price hikes. "The price is increasing from $5 a box to $7 a box, and we held the $5 a box for five years," Cassie Colgan of Girl Scouts of Nassau County told ABC7.

Pork Ribs

Pork steaks, chops, and ribs are up 2%, making it more difficult for customers to justify buying what has traditionally been a cheaper meat option. Labor issues could also impact prices. "Not only could our packers see constraints on worker availability, but we would also expect higher turnover and increased absenteeism. We could also see increased issues with on-farm labor availability," Rabobank economist Christine McCracken tells Pork Business.

Canned Fruits

Canned fruit prices are up 2.8%, thanks to extreme weather impacting supply, and the USDA predicts prices will continue to rise. "Prices for farm-level fruits are predicted to increase by 8.6 percent in 2025, with a prediction interval of -4.3 to 23.8 percent," the agency says.

Frozen Bakery Products

slice of apple pie topped with ice cream — Shutterstock

Frozen bakery product prices are up 1.9%, and the egg shortage doesn't help. This includes pies, tarts, and turnovers. "Overall grocery price inflation is relatively tame; it's essentially in line with where it was before the pandemic … nothing alarming," Gregory Daco, EY Parthenon's chief economist, told CNN. "But prices relative to where they were before the pandemic remain very high."