The cost of putting food on the table in Wisconsin continues to go up. Retail food prices climbed about two-percent during the last three months, according to a quarterly survey from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation.
The Federation’s Casey Langan says there are a bumper crop of reasons for the increase. They include a strong global demand for U.S. products, extreme weather disrupting crop production, and rising energy prices making it more expensive to transport the food supply.
The survey looks at 16 common food items, such as eggs, milk, potatoes, and shredded cheese. Of those, 10 increased in price over the last quarter. That brought the average grocery bill for the survey to $50.55, up $1.06 from June and $5.26 from a year ago.
Langan says consumers can expect food prices to continue to climb, as long as energy prices keep going up.