NORFOLK, Va. — Inflation has made grocery shopping harder for customers since prices spiked in 2020, but shoppers might finally get some relief this Thanksgiving.
"It's almost heartbreaking because the pay doesn't increase with it, so you just make do," said one grocery shopper on Wednesday.
"I won't say it's depressing, but it's definitely concerning. We should be focused on travel, gifts, spending time with the family, but right now we're worrying about our grocery bill," said shopper Charles Baker.
"It's affecting a different demographic of people. People who could afford groceries, can't afford groceries now," said grocery store employee Deonte Lassiter.
Though inflation is taking its toll, the latest trend report from the Consumer Price Index shows that grocery prices have actually decreased by 19% since the spike in 2020 and are still trending down toward the country's annual inflation target of 2%. Retired business professor Peter Shaw said you may feel it at the Thanksgiving dinner table.
"If we're looking for an example, at Thanksgiving dinner if we're feeding a family of 10, prices two years ago would've costed over $64," said Shaw. "Today it's projected to be about $58."
That's about a 9.3% drop.
"So the good news is that we are seeing a turnaround, that the costs of turkey dinners for Thanksgiving are starting to come down even though some ingredients are going to be bouncing around," said Shaw.
Shaw said that compared to last year, the costs of other Thanksgiving staples like rolls and stuffing are up about 8% while the cost of cranberries are up about 12%. The cost of turkeys are currently down about 6%.