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Grocery prices keep climbing, leaving Florida families struggling to afford basics

USDA predicts grocery prices will rise 3.2% this year, and some experts say the increase could be even steeper — hitting families with children the hardest.

Courtesy of CNN Newsource

By: Matt Sczesny

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Grocery prices in Florida continue to squeeze consumers, with new data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicting costs will rise 3.2% this year, driven largely by weather and oil prices.

For many shoppers, the pressure is already unbearable.

WATCH BELOW: Grocery prices keep rising, families turn to debt

Florida grocery prices keep rising, families turn to debt

"People can't buy the basics anymore, the wages are low — minimum wage — and people can't get work," a woman who was waiting for food assistance on Wednesday outside the United Haitian Baptist Church in West Palm Beach.

Many at the food giveaway said they have already given up on grocery stores altogether. Parents with large families say government assistance is no longer enough to bridge the gap.

"How hard is it to buy groceries for five children?" WPTV reporter Matt Sczesny asked a mother who was waiting for food assistance.

"It is, mostly because government assistance isn't helping as much as they were before," the mother replied.

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Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert told WPTV in February that the USDA's forecast may actually understate how bad things will get.

"We're going to continue to see prices go up. The government is saying food prices will go up between 2 and 3 percent, I think that's very conservative for this year," Lempert said. "I think we're going to see them go up between 5 and 8 percent at a minimum, and also because of the tariff situation, what we're starting to see is a lot of foreign countries saying we don't want to export to the U.S."

Experts say the sustained price hikes have left shoppers struggling and sinking into debt. Sky Beard, the director of No Kid Hungry Florida, said research shows the financial damage is spreading well beyond the checkout line.

"And because of the cost of food, many of those things like putting money in savings aren't happening," Beard said. "We heard a lot about incurring debt due to the cost of food, and specifically, more than a third of respondents said they've turned to buy now pay later options in order to afford the cost of groceries."

The pressures on consumers — especially those with children — are immense as families try to balance healthy choices against higher prices.

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Watch our previous coverage on grocery prices below: