Food-price inflation—including prices for meat, poultry and dairy—slowed during 2013, falling well below the 20-year historical average of 2.8 percent. Last year, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all food increased by 1.4 percent, compared with 2.6 percent in 2012, according to the latest CPI report.
Prices for food at home increased by less than 1 percent compared with 2.5 percent during 2012. Prices for food away from home increased by 2.1 percent, which was down from 2.8 percent in 2012.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) expects food prices to increase at a more typical rate of 2.5 to 3.5 percent for all food in 2014.
Click here to read more about the Consumer Price Index.