While campaigning for re-election in 2024, Donald Trump stood in front of a table full of groceries – bags of flour, cartons of eggs, cooking oil – and told voters he would bring down the price of groceries “starting on day one” of his second term in the White House.
Over two years later, US consumers have yet to enjoy lower prices. In fact, due to supply chain issues, jostling over tariffs, wars in Ukraine and Iran, severe cuts in Snap (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits, and the climate crisis, more than half of Americans say they’re struggling to afford groceries.
Below, five Guardian readers share how much they spend on food a month and the changes they’ve had to make in response to rising prices.
Erin Hutchins, 44, Maine
Job: unemployed
Annual household income: $15,600
Size of household: one adult
Percentage of monthly budget spent on food: 75%
Groceries: About $300. I usually shop once a week. Because I am disabled and cannot drive, I have to order groceries online – this means I have to factor in higher prices and added expenses. Since Instacart stopped offering free delivery, I have to order from Whole Foods, which is so far away that perishable items often spoil before I get them.
I used to get $200 a month in Snap benefits, but they were taken away last year and I never got them back.
I try to eat as little as possible: a protein bar in the morning, popcorn and mixed nuts for lunch, and a full meal for dinner.
Dining out/ordering in: $30. I dine out once a month, at a monthly social mixer at a local barcade. I get a light meal. I order in four or five times a year, for special occasions. Usually, I order something I can divide into several meals, like pizza.
How do you feel about how much you spend on food? I pay a lot more for fewer and fewer items. It is very noticeable compared to a year ago. It makes me feel sad, depressed and anxious.
Frances Sabahive
Job: laboratory worker
Annual household income: $123,000
Size of household: Two adults and five children
Percentage of monthly budget spent on food: A lot
Groceries: About $1,200. I mostly do pick-up orders from Walmart, Aldi and Sam’s Club. I visit the farmer’s market a couple of times a month for local honey and other foods, and also because I enjoy it.
I do not spend much time shopping for deals. We don’t have a ton of time to go to different stores. Convenience, thankfully, is still a priority at this point. Over the years, we have learned where to go to get certain items; for example, Sam’s Club for bulk household items like toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning supplies.
We do not buy as much beef. The prices are just too high to justify for my large family. It’s mostly chicken and turkey now. No one has complained, and I doubt the kids notice that we’re having turkey burgers, or that it’s ground chicken in their spaghetti.
I’ve also stopped buying the kids name-brand chips, and their snack selection has decreased to just a couple of choices throughout the week. I make sure to buy them in bulk from Sam’s Club. We had a garage in the fridge for their beverages and extra snacks but that’s stopped. I turned off the garage fridge a couple of months ago.
We have also stopped buying organic vegetables. We used to shop at Whole Foods a lot, but that’s unrealistic at this point.
Dining out/ordering in: About $300-$400. My husband and I go out together a couple of times a month, and we take the kids out every now and again. It adds up quickly with five kids, and my husband and I prefer local restaurants over cheaper chain restaurants.
How do you feel about how much you spend on food? It’s beginning to feel a little irresponsible and I hate that – I feel irresponsible buying food for my family? But our electric bill is higher now than it’s ever been, our mortgage has gone up an additional $350 a month and everywhere I turn it’s just more and more money. At this point, we’re spending a very big part of [our monthly budget] on food. It keeps adding up.
Bee Henderson, 27, Kansas
Job: contract worker
Annual household income: $100,000
Size of household: three adults
Percentage of monthly budget spent on food: 34%
Groceries: $500-$600. We have been trying to cut back. We go to the grocery store once a week, and switch between Aldi and Walmart. There is no way we could afford Kroger, Target or Whole Foods. My sister gets to choose her own things since she has Arfid, and I give her an extra [weekly] budget of $35. She also uses the student food pantry.
We used to get food stamps, but lost those in 2025. We used to buy more poultry and meat. My husband and sister still eat meat, but I’ve learned to go without it so they can afford to have a little bit. Our main sources of protein now are beans, tofu, eggs and fish. We also used to buy fresh bags of fruit and veggies, but now settle for frozen mostly. I am also supposed to avoid gluten and lactose. I used to get gluten-free items like bread and granola bars, but [because of the cost] now I just skip meals, deal with the stomachache, and do without.
Everything is just so much more expensive, and we do not have the luxury of getting whatever sounds good – it’s whatever is cheapest. Because my sister and I are both disabled, nearly half of every paycheck goes to healthcare costs. We spend so much on groceries now, we have no money going into our savings.
Dining out/ordering in: $60 a month. We treat ourselves to McDonald’s once a week, but only allow ourselves the $5 meal deal.
How do you feel about how much you spend on food? It baffles me to hear Trump say groceries are affordable when they aren’t. And we make a lot more money than most.
I miss when the biggest stressor I had at the grocery store was if I should get scoop chips or flat chips for nacho night. I also miss nacho night.
Steve (pseudonym), 60
Job: Construction project manager
Annual household income: $110,000
Size of household: two adults
Percentage of monthly budget spent on food: 17%-20%
Groceries: $1,800. We go to the store two or three times a week. We don’t look for deals so much. We are omnivores, and buy organic when we can.
Prices are higher, absolutely. We are fixing more food at home, eating leftovers, reducing our alcohol consumption, and have eliminated snack foods and UPFs.
Why is it so expensive to eat good food? It seems like it’s a growing chunk of our income. And yet we are reluctant to reduce spending on local food sources like local coffee roasters, breweries, meats and veggies. Trader Joe’s organics are continually a letdown.
Dining out/ordering in: $200-$300. We dine out two to three times a month, anything from local tacos to a fancy place. A typical meal out is usually $50-$150.
How do you feel about how much you spend on food? Though I did not consider voting for the current administration, I had high hopes for RFK Jr’s approach to cleaning up the food industry. But it was a long shot that he could or would do anything significantly positive. When I visit the EU, Britain or Mexico, I can eat the bread, veggies, pastries, cheese or whatever at whatever restaurant, and not feel the normal yuck/bloat of eating “regular” US food.
Nayeli (pseudonym), 47, Texas
Job: college professor
Annual household income: $95,000
Size of household: two adults and one child
Percentage of monthly budget spent on food: 30%
Groceries: $1,000-$1,100. I try to plan meals and shop weekly, but I can’t always make that happen. In Texas everyone shops at HEB – a regional store that has pushed out most other chains, but also they’re great and everybody loves them. Sometimes we’ll go to Sprouts, a health food chain, and very rarely to Whole Foods. That would be more of a special occasion.
Groceries we buy most frequently include: bread, tortillas, eggs, cheese, peanut butter, tofu, soy milk, yogurt, canned beans, half and half, fresh fruits and veggies, plus treats and snacks for kids’ lunches. We also try to keep frozen stuff on hand.
Dining out/ordering in: $70. We tend not to dine out as a family. It’s gotten too expensive. Typical cost of a meal out here would be $20 per person for meal, drink and tip, so that’s $60 for three of us. The rare times we do dine out it would be a special treat to celebrate a birthday or anniversary, maybe at an Indian, Vietnamese or vegetarian restaurant.
We get take out maybe twice a month, bahn mi or veggie burgers or pizza. That usually runs $30-$40. We don’t use meal delivery apps – too expensive.
How do you feel about how much you spend on food? It feels ridiculous. Do we need to spend this much to have a decent quality of life? So far we’ve been privileged enough to absorb the rising cost of food, but it makes me nervous. In uncertain times, it seems better to budget and save as much as possible than simply to adjust our budget to meet inflation.
I’ve noticed as eating out has become unaffordable, it shifts the way I’m social with other people. In the past, I might meet up with someone for lunch or buy someone a meal as a thank you, and now this feels inaccessible. There are other ways of meeting up or saying thank you. But I’ve noticed the change.
