Food Prices Worried Most Voters, But Trump's Plans Likely Won't Lower Their Grocery Bills

Americans are fed up with the price of food, and many are looking to President-elect Donald Trump to lower their grocery bills.

Trump often railed on the campaign trail against hefty price increases for bacon , cereal, crackers and other items.

"We'll get them down," he told shoppers during a September visit to a Pennsylvania grocery store.

But the food price inflation that stunned the U.S. - and other parts of the world - in 2021 and 2022 had complicated causes that are difficult to unwind, from the pandemic to the Ukraine war to avian flu. And many economists think Trump's plans, including putting tariffs on imported foods and deporting undocumented workers, could actually make food prices rise.

As of October, U.S. prices for food eaten at home were up 28 from 2019, according to government figures released Wednesday. But the growth peaked in 2022 between October 2023 and October 2024, food prices rose 2, which was lower than the overall inflation rate.