Grocery Prices Are Breaking Budgets — and Causing Stress for 90% of Americans

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As leading grocery chains increase prices on essentials, they are blaming US President Donald Trump’s tariffs for raising the cost of living for households across the country.

According to the Consumer Price Index, the price of food has increased by 3% in the past year, with meats, poultry, fish, and eggs getting 5.6% more expensive from June 2024 to June 2025.

In a poll published this month by the Associated Press and the National Opinion Research Center, 90% of Americans reported that they considered the cost of groceries a source of stress, with 53% describing it as a “major” source of stress.

In earnings calls and public statements, executives of many of America’s largest and most profitable grocery retailers are citing Trump’s tariffs as justification for passing on the costs to consumers, according to a new report released on Tuesday by Accountable.US.

In a first-quarter earnings call in May, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said that while the company was better positioned than others to absorb the cost of tariffs, they would still “result in higher prices” for consumers. Since then, some grocery items at America’s largest retailer have shown 40% hikes that have outraged consumers, fueling calls for a boycott.

On another call Thursday, McMillon said, “We’ve continued to see our costs increase each week, which we expect will continue into the third and fourth quarters.”

“Trump’s tariffs are making groceries more expensive,” said Accountable.US. “Everyday Americans pay the cost while corporations and the wealthy profit.”

Costco’s chief financial officer, Gary Millerchip, told shareholders in May that the company “saw inflation as a result of tariffs because we import certain fresh items from Central and South America.”

Kroger’s CFO, Todd Foley, projected similar hikes to fresh food prices beginning in March. Although Foley said the impact would not likely be as significant as those experienced by their international competitors, he said the tariffs would likely cause “mid-single digit effects” on the costs of produce imported from Mexico and Canada.

Albertsons CEO Susan Miller has acknowledged that the company is raising prices on some goods to compensate for tariffs. But it has also turned the screws on its suppliers, demanding that they eat the cost of the new levies.