An increasing hike in the cost of food items is the latest hurdle many U.S. families are having to grapple with.
Just as is with current gas prices, food prices are currently at their highest, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Whether it is vegetables, dairy, or poultry products it's starting to cost more to keep refrigerators and pantries stocked up.
Officials at the USDA warned to expect grocery shopping to continue to get more expensive throughout the year.
The rising cost is impacting many families in the Tampa Bay area, some of whom have started getting creative to cut down on cost.
"I noticed they were slowly raising the prices of each little item probably about 25 cents to 50 cents. It's so subtle but I definitely have noticed it and it all adds up," said Maggie Arias of Lakewood Ranch.
Arias is a blogger and stay-at-home mom of two who recently moved to the area from Denver, Colorado after a previous move from New Zealand. She said she started seeing food prices going up about a month and a half ago and started making adjustments.
"Milk, cereal, eggs, meat has gotten really expensive and even the vegetables that I thought were used to be so inexpensive and actually been really expensive now," Arias said.
In a recently released March 2022 report on food price outlook, the USDA said prices will continue to rise between 4-6 percent through the rest of the year.
Arias, who just gave birth to a new baby girl six weeks ago, said along with baby food and other special dietary needs, her family most recently spent almost $2,000 on one month's worth of groceries.
"Baby food is really expensive and I think that has always been expensive so things like the PediaSure and baby oatmeal. But there are things that I'm finding online to make our own versions of it at home," she said.
The USDA said food items are at their highest in decades and have been impacted by global incidents like the Ukraine-Russia war, ongoing inflation, supply chain issues and an Avian Influenza outbreak.
That outbreak has hit at least 26 states and has forced many farmers to destroy millions of chickens and turkeys to try to stave off the spread of the disease.
The ripple effect is now impacting the cost of poultry products including eggs which trade analysts said forced March wholesale prices to climb to $3.01 a dozen ahead of the Easter holiday. The current national average price for a dozen Grade-A white eggs is $1.66 up from $1.08 this time last year, according to the USDA.
"We are cutting back and sticking to mainly things that we really need. Unless it's a special occasion like a birthday, then we splurge and get like snacks and things like that but otherwise, we keep trying to keep it basic," Arias said.
Along with couponing and finding sales Arias has also turned to creative alternatives.
"We started using some meal delivery services and actually these meal delivery services which used to be so expensive are actually almost the same," she said.
The USDA also said the cost of take-out and dining at restaurants has also jumped. Families should expect to pay up to 8-percent or higher for their meals, especially on meats like beef, veal and seafood.