going to the grocery store anytime soon brace yourself food prices jumped 12 last month and have shot up 122 in the past year the biggest annual increase since 1979 for the first time since 1952 grocery prices have risen by 1 or more for six straight months the cost of dining out increased by 77 compared to last year a 09 increase from may the rate of inflation reached a 41year high in june with prices on consumer goods increasing 91 from last year the us bureau of labor statistics said wednesday but experts said people should not overreact given that some prices fell in the latter half of june “there is even less reason this time to overreact to a hot inflation reading” said josh bivens director of research at the economic policy institute a progressive think tank “we all know that the main drivers of today’s large number are commodity prices mostly energy and food” he said adding that these prices have fallen sharply in recent weeks food prices have been on the rise due in part to the rising cost of fertilizer which has been pushed up by supplychain disruptions related to russia’s invasion of the ukraine but some people could be forgiven for overreacting to the rise in some food items the takeaway avoid them or use them sparingly on an unadjusted basis eggs and milk prices rose 331 and 164 respectively compared to last year eggs were up 03 in june compared to the previous month milk was up 09 for the same period the price of chicken in june rose by 186 on the year and 17 on the month while raw beef and most pork products were cheaper in june uncooked ground beef rose 97 compared to last year but was 01 cheaper in june than in may the price of flour increased by 55 on the month and 192 on the year frankfurters sausages rose by 48 on the month and 163 on the year and butter and margarine increased by 37 on the month and 263 on the year americans have been changing their buying habits due to rising prices with some people trading down to generic store brands and skipping buying meat altogether the shifting demand may be starting to affect the rate of price increases on some products “meat prices declined for a second straight month in june and the pace of price growth slowed for categories like eggs and dairy” said kayla bruun economic analyst at morning consult