Across the United States, the price of groceries has become an everyday worry, especially for working-class families already struggling to make ends meet. In New Jersey’s Legislative District 12 (LD-12), this issue has taken center stage, with political candidates and federal agencies alike raising alarms about the complex forces driving food costs ever higher. From the farm fields to supermarket aisles, a web of policy decisions, labor shortages, and global pressures is shaping what Americans pay for their next meal.
On October 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor issued an interim rule that could reshape the agricultural workforce—and potentially, the price tags at grocery stores. The rule proposes lowering pay for seasonal agricultural workers who hold H-2A visas, a move the Department says is necessary to address a deepening labor shortage in American agriculture. According to the Department, the decline in immigrant labor is “exacerbating [an] already pressing mismatch in the agricultural labor market and depriving growers of a relatively cheaper labor supply on which they have become economically reliant,” as reported by The American Prospect.
The stakes, the Department warns, are high. “Without swift action, agricultural employers will be unable to maintain operations, and the nation’s food supply will be at risk,” the interim rule states. This isn’t just bureaucratic hand-wringing. Nearly one in five agricultural workers in the U.S. are now on H-2A visas—a nearly tenfold increase over the last two decades, according to The American Prospect. The H-2A program allows growers to sponsor foreign workers for up to a year, but these workers lack bargaining rights and must accept a minimum wage set by federal guidelines, which is designed not to create an “adverse effect” on U.S. workers.
Yet, despite rising wages in the sector, “there is no indication that unemployed or marginally attached U.S. workers are entering the agricultural labor force in meaningful numbers,” the Department’s rule adds. The Trump administration, which has prioritized tightening immigration policy while also supporting American agriculture, now finds itself in a bind: how to ensure a stable, lawful labor force for farms while keeping food prices in check and domestic workers employed.
This federal-level drama isn’t happening in a vacuum. Down at the local level, the consequences are being felt directly by families and by candidates hoping to represent them. On October 15, 2025, Freshta Taeb, a candidate for Assembly in New Jersey’s LD-12, publicly condemned what she called lawmakers’ “neglect” of the rising cost of groceries. According to Taeb, “It is shameful that under the watch of our elected leaders, families in LD-12 have been forced to choose between feeding their children and keeping the lights on. The cost of food should never rise higher than our community’s ability to care for one another. Families should never have to decide between a bag of groceries or paying rent. Affordable food is not a privilege, it is a basic dignity we all deserve, and I will not stand by while that dignity is denied to our people. We deserve better.”
Her words reflect a growing sense of frustration among voters. More than half of respondents in a 2025 poll said the cost of groceries was a “major source” of stress for them. Taeb points to a mix of factors for the surge in prices: supply chain disruptions, rising energy costs, and U.S. foreign policy all play a role. Beef, in particular, has seen a notable spike, driven by increased production costs. The result? Kitchen staples are becoming luxuries, and the working class is bearing the brunt.
Taeb’s criticism of current LD-12 legislators is pointed. She claims that instead of tackling the affordability crisis, incumbents have focused legislative efforts on combating organized retail theft—an issue she sees as secondary to the immediate pain of rising food costs. “The people of LD-12 are feeling the brunt of their officials’ inaction,” Taeb argues, positioning her campaign as a remedy to this perceived neglect.
Her platform, “Make New Jersey Affordable Again,” is built on promises to restore affordability and address the real-world struggles of families in her district. Taeb is urging voters to keep the cost of living front and center as they head to the polls this November, emphasizing that her campaign is about “real solutions to everyday struggles and policies designed to make living affordable again for families across LD-12.”
The pain at the checkout counter isn’t unique to New Jersey. The interplay between federal labor policy and local grocery prices is playing out across the country. As the Department of Labor’s interim rule highlights, the agricultural labor force has become increasingly dependent on H-2A visa workers—almost 20% of the workforce, up from just 2% two decades ago. This shift has made farms more reliant on foreign labor, even as political winds have made that supply less certain.
Growers argue that without access to a stable, affordable workforce, they can’t keep up with demand or keep prices low. But efforts to attract more U.S.-born workers into farm labor have largely faltered, despite increases in pay. The work is tough, the hours are long, and the rewards often fail to outweigh the hardships. As the Department’s interim rule bluntly puts it, “Despite rising wages, there is no indication that unemployed or marginally attached U.S. workers are entering the agricultural labor force in meaningful numbers.”
This labor crunch has ripple effects. Fewer workers mean higher production costs, which in turn drive up prices for consumers. When combined with supply chain snags and spiking energy prices, the result is a perfect storm—one that’s making trips to the grocery store a source of anxiety for millions of Americans.
Politicians like Taeb are betting that voters want action—and soon. Her campaign, which also emphasizes support for veterans and community-first policies, is part of a broader grassroots movement demanding that affordability be put back on the legislative agenda. She wants to unite LD-12 through what she calls “common-sense solutions,” and she’s not shy about drawing a contrast with her opponents.
But the solutions are far from simple. Lowering wages for H-2A workers, as the Department of Labor proposes, might help some growers in the short term, but it raises thorny questions about fairness and the long-term sustainability of the nation’s food system. Meanwhile, the broader economic forces—global supply chains, energy markets, and policy decisions in Washington—remain largely outside the control of any single lawmaker or candidate.
Still, as the election season heats up, it’s clear that food affordability is no longer a background issue. It’s front and center, shaping debates from the halls of Congress to local campaign stops in places like LD-12. Whether through federal action, local leadership, or a mix of both, the search for solutions continues—because for many American families, the cost of dinner is a question that just can’t wait.