An undeniable truth that we've been living by and considering when gauging our eating habits is that, as a general statement, buying groceries and cooking at home is a cheaper and healthier alternative to eating out or ordering in. But—as is the case with a lot of things in the past few months—that truth has now been turned on its head as, according to a new report by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of groceries has sharply increased in the past month.
Earlier this week, the fact-finding agency released some data that highlights a 2.5% increase in grocery store prices—the highest upward change since February of 1974. Specifically speaking, fruits and vegetables have become 1.5% more expensive; the costs of bakery food, breakfast cereals and non-alcoholic beverages have gone up 2.9%; poultry, meats and fish cost Americans 4.3% more and—brace yourselves for this one—the price of eggs has spiked 16.1%.
In contrast, "the index for food away from home rose .1% in April," reads the report. Which means that, as the price for takeout has remained virtually the same, we are likely spending more on the ingredients we need to make the same meal at home.
This all begs the question: is it more financially astute to start ordering out for dinner?
Of course, there is a reason for this all: factories have shut down (we're sure you've read all about the limits imposed on the amount of meat one can buy and the shortage of poultry) and general demand for groceries has increased. That's the clearest recipe for a surge in costs, unfortunately.
Although we're all about being healthy and cooking our own food, especially now that we're stuck at home and likely don't have much else to do, we take this opportunity to posit that, maybe, a few times a week, we should support our struggling local restaurants while saving some bucks and having takeout for dinner.
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