Grocery inflation is slowing, but costs of Romaine, coffee, potatoes are climbing the fastest

After more than a year of historical inflation, grocery prices are staying relatively steady. Prices fell in March and April for the first time since September 2020 and have changed little since. In August, the cost of groceries inflated 0.2% over July prices.

The drop earlier this spring was largely fueled by decreases in eggs – which had risen dramatically in price – as well as meats, fruits and vegetables, and dairy products.

The overall cost of groceries in August remained up 3% from 2022 after historically high inflation in the past couple of years following a series of major social and economic events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, labor disruptions, and heightened consumer demand. Overall, inflation has finally somewhat cooled after continuous interest rate hikes from the Fed, and grocery inflation appears to be doing the same.

Expect your grocery bill to go down, economists forecast - but not to what it was before COVID

Despite the lull, groceries in some categories continued to climb.

Stacker used monthly data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to find the grocery items that experienced the largest price increases over the last month in the South, using year-over-year changes as a tiebreaker where needed. For this analysis, the South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Washington D.C., Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Where can I find the best prices on grocery staples this week?

(Stacker excluded some hyper-specific meat categories in order to better understand grocery price fluctuations more broadly.)

#12. Beef steaks (per lb.)
- One-month increase in cost: +0.4%
- Annual change in cost: +11.8%
- August 2023 cost: $10.19

#10. Cheddar cheese, natural (per lb.)
- One-month increase in cost: +0.5%
- Annual change in cost: +0.3%
- August 2023 cost: $5.95

#10. Ground beef (per lb.)
- One-month increase in cost: +0.5%
- Annual change in cost: +3.4%
- August 2023 cost: $5.48

After big surge, price of eggs falling fast compared to other groceries

#9. Wine (per 1 liter)
- One-month increase in cost: +1.4%
- Annual change in cost: +3.6%
- August 2023 cost: $12.41

#8. Lemons (per lb.)
- One-month increase in cost: +1.5%
- Annual change in cost: Not available
- August 2023 cost: $2.24

#7. Potato chips (per 16 oz.)
- One-month increase in cost: +1.6%
- Annual change in cost: +13.0%
- August 2023 cost: $7.06

#6. Ice cream, prepackaged in bulk (per 1/2 gal.)
- One-month increase in cost: +3.2%
- Annual change in cost: +8.5%
- August 2023 cost: $5.88

#5. Strawberries (per 12 oz.)
- One-month increase in cost: +3.7%
- Annual change in cost: +6.7%
- August 2023 cost: $2.49

#4. Whole chicken (per lb.)
- One-month increase in cost: +4.4%
- Annual change in cost: +3.1%
- August 2023 cost: $1.83

#3. White potatoes (per lb.)
- One-month increase in cost: +5.3%
- Annual change in cost: +13.9%
- August 2023 cost: $1.16

#2. Ground coffee (per lb.)
- One-month increase in cost: +6.1%
- Annual change in cost: +5.6%
- August 2023 cost: $6.22

#1. Romaine lettuce (per lb.)
- One-month increase in cost: +6.8%
- Annual change in cost: Not available
- August 2023 cost: $2.44