August Food Price Outlook Rises

The USDA’s August 2025 Food Price Outlook forecasts anticipates that food prices will move higher by 2.9% in 2025.  Food-at-home prices will rise by 2.2%, and food-away-from-home prices will increase by 3.9%.  These projections suggest price increases will be close to the historical average rate for 2025, while prices are expected to grow more slowly in 2026.

The USDA’s Economic Research Service says in 2026, food prices overall will increase by 2.2%.  Food-at-home prices next year will increase by 1.2%, and food-away-from-home prices are predicted to rise by 3.3% in 2026.

From June to July this year, prices declined for eight food-at-home categories, increased for six categories, and were stable for one food-at-home category. Products like beef, veal, pork, and fresh vegetables experienced price swings of larger than one percent.

Two categories, eggs and fresh fruit, experienced price decreases of larger than 1%. Pork prices rose 1.3 % as well.

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