As the summer of 2025 unfolds, Americans from coast to coast are feeling the sting of rising grocery prices, prompting a widespread shift in shopping habits and deepening anxieties about the economy. New surveys and firsthand accounts reveal a nation adjusting not just what it buys, but how it eats, celebrates, and copes with mounting financial pressures—changes that are rippling through households, businesses, and entire communities.
According to a recent Save A Lot survey conducted in June 2025, nearly eight in ten U.S. adults (79%) reported that their average grocery bill had increased over the previous three months. This is not an isolated sentiment. A separate Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, released in early August, found that 53% of Americans now consider grocery costs a “major” source of stress, while another 33% call it a “minor” stress. Only 14% say groceries are not a worry at all. The numbers tell a story of growing unease—and the impact is being felt at every level of society.
“Something has got to be done…my food stamps never go as long as they should. They never last a whole month. I’m always having to go to food pantries and everything, so yeah, I mean used to walk into Walmart and spend 120 bucks to get me a bunch of bags, now it’s like maybe two or three bags,” said Joshua Holliman, a Roanoke, Virginia father of four, in an interview with WFXR. His experience is echoed by thousands, especially among low-income families, who are struggling to keep up as prices climb month after month.
For others, the pain is less acute but still present. “I’m a student, and so I am on a budget, and I keep that in mind when it comes to groceries, but so far I haven’t had too many issues, just me. I’m only feeding myself,” Morgan Parker told WFXR. But even those with fewer mouths to feed are watching their wallets more closely than ever before.
The impact goes beyond individual households. The Roanoke Rescue Mission, a local nonprofit, reported a staggering 20% increase in demand for free food boxes in July alone. “The strain doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon,” said Lisa Thompson, the organization’s Director of Development and Communication. In some Roanoke neighborhoods, classified as food deserts, access to affordable, nutritious groceries is a daily challenge. Community resources like Market on Melrose are stepping in to help, but the need for relief is far from over.
Nationally, the reasons behind the grocery price surge are complex. Inflation on groceries, which peaked at 9.4% in 2022 amid global supply chain bottlenecks, has slowed to 2.4% for the twelve months ending in June 2025, according to the latest consumer price index. Yet, as reported by CNN, this doesn’t mean prices have come down—rather, they’ve simply stopped rising as quickly. Some staples, such as eggs, beef, and orange juice, have even seen accelerated price hikes due to supply changes and extreme weather events.
Trade policy is also playing a significant role. President Donald Trump campaigned in 2024 on a promise to lower grocery prices, telling voters they were “going to be affording their groceries very soon.” Yet, as of August 2025, those promises remain unfulfilled. Trump’s tariffs on imported goods are now being felt in the prices of fruits, canned goods, coffee, and more. The Census Bureau reported that American businesses imported significantly less in June as higher tariffs made foreign-produced goods more expensive. “This is an environment with tremendous uncertainty around prices because of administration’s tariff and trade policy,” explained David Ortega, a food economist at Michigan State University, to the Associated Press. “Everybody sees the price of food.”
The broader economy is feeding this anxiety. Consumer confidence has wobbled in recent months, with worries about jobs and spending, and companies are feeling the pinch. Kroger’s interim CEO Ron Sargent noted in June that “customers continue to spend cautiously in an uncertain economic environment.” Both high- and low-income shoppers are “navigating a significant uncertainty,” he said. Mondelez, the owner of Oreo and Chips Ahoy, reported a 3.5% drop in North American sales last quarter as consumers bought fewer snacks and biscuits, a sign of shifting priorities.
Faced with these challenges, Americans are adapting in creative—and sometimes painful—ways. The Save A Lot survey found that more than half of shoppers (55%) are buying more private label products in 2025 than they did a year earlier. Discount chains like Save A Lot, which operates about 700 stores in 30 states, are expanding their store-brand offerings, introducing 55 new items in the past year alone, including pantry staples and pet food under the Oliver & Scout label. “Not only do we focus on offering great economic value—we are very intentional on the product quality,” said Sally Fatzinger, Save A Lot’s Vice President of Center Store. “Our value and quality equation sets our private label products apart.”
Price has become the deciding factor for most shoppers. In the Save A Lot survey, 82% of respondents said price was the most essential factor in choosing where to shop for groceries, with produce quality (66%) and proximity to home (54%) trailing behind. Nearly half (49%) said price was “extremely important” in their decisions, and 40% said they are very likely to shop at discount grocery chains like Save A Lot due to rising food costs. “Shoppers are prioritizing value, and that’s shaping where they shop, what they buy, and how they provide for their families,” Fatzinger added.
These economic pressures are even reshaping how Americans celebrate. More than half (53%) of those surveyed by Save A Lot said they scaled back their summer holiday hosting plans. Among those still gathering, 32% cut back on decorations and 30% chose more affordable meals. The days of lavish summer barbecues and overflowing picnic tables are giving way to more frugal, pared-down festivities.
Even as food inflation slows, the underlying costs remain high—and for many, the stress is unrelenting. “There’s a lot of consumer anxiety” and “frustration” with inflation, said Mondelez CEO Dirk van De Put to CNN. The economic slowdown is impacting not just grocery bills, but job markets and business growth plans, with some economists warning that the full effects of tariffs and supply chain disruptions may not have been felt yet.
For communities like Roanoke, where food deserts and financial hardship intersect, the battle for affordable groceries is both urgent and ongoing. Nonprofits and discount grocers are doing what they can, but as families, students, and businesses alike continue to adapt, the need for lasting solutions has never been clearer. The story of America’s grocery bills in 2025 is, at its heart, a story about resilience, adaptation, and the search for value in uncertain times.
