Food Prices Relatively Stable In 2012

A recent study found that consumers at the local grocery store saw something relatively new last year — stable food prices.

The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation Marketbasket survey found that the prices of 16 common grocery items, like white bread and whole milk, only jumped about two-percent last year. Spokesman Casey Langan says stable energy prices were a big reason why, “Even though they were relatively high, they didn’t jump around a lot, that had a calming effect on our food prices we were used to them being so volatile.”

Langan says prices fluctuated considerably from 2008 to 2011. He says 2013 could be another tumultuous year. He says the drought has led to farmers thinning their herds, which means there will be still be beef and dairy products at the grocery store but not as much, which means prices will likely be higher.