Inflation Is Packing On Punch On Wallets Across The Carolinas

CHARLOTTE, NC. — Iesha Edmonds has never been one to coupon or be on the hunt for a good deal until inflation began draining her wallet.

“ I never couponed but now it’s like coupons and just doing what you’ve got to do, catching the sales. It’s frustrating it’s things that you don’t normally do that you’re having to do now just to get by,” Edmonds says.

Food prices increased nearly 9% in the year that ended last month. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that’s the largest 12-month hike since May 1981. According to the BLS, groceries shot up 10-percent overall with products like eggs, flour, and milk all rising at least 11%.

“It’s a shame that bread and milk, bologna and cheese all of that is very high. We can’t afford all of it and it keeps going up,” says another Charlotte woman.

Researchers say a couple of factors are causing food items to be more expensive. They include: crop-affecting droughts and the war in Ukraine, which has disrupted wheat production. Some speculate that corporate greed is also part of the price hike. Senior economist at Wells Fargo Mark Vitner says that’s unlikely.

“What’s changed is that labor cost or up quite a bit and what people thought were going to be temporary price pressures are proving to be very persistent and because of that, they can absorb those higher cost anymore and they’re having to push price increases,” Vitner says.