While some day-to-day services and goods are seeing price drops, grocery stores are not. The latest data from theU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows grocery prices grew 13.1% since last July.
Local families on the Central Coast are feeling the impact, becoming a battle between keeping food on the table and soaring food prices.
“What I've seen increases in everything in the meat and even in fruit and the milk. It’s like you go into certain stores and you waste like 80 bucks and it’s not all you need it’s half of what you needed," said Paso Robles resident, Consuelo Esquivel.
Food staples such as eggs, have had the biggest increase. Their cost rose 4.3% in the month of July and 38% in the year.
“Milk is up to I think 6 and a half, $7 and it used to be $5.99 for us and we always get milk, so that’s the biggest thing we’ve seen so far," explained Julissa Andrade from San Luis Obispo.
Making that trip to the grocery store cost much more.
“Definitely having to set aside a little bit more money," said Arroyo Grande resident, Tina Abdulla.
“Just right now I think we spent about $116 compared to a few months ago or maybe around January at the beginning of the year, at Grocery Outlet at least we’ve typically been spending $60 to $80, so $30-$40 increase," said Andrade.
So, what are people doing to save a buck?
Local residents said everything from using coupons, comparing prices at local stores, and sticking to only buying the essentials.
“Basically, what we do get is the necessary. The things we don’t need like sugary drinks or sodas or stuff like that we just don’t get," said Esquivel.
There are resources that offer food help including theSLO Food Bank and The Salvation Army food pantry.
