SAN DIEGO, CALIF. (KGTV) — President Joe Biden highlighted cooling inflation during his State of the Union address on Tuesday but some San Diegans say they’re still feeling the financial squeeze at the grocery store.
The president said the United States was better positioned than any other country on Earth during his speech Tuesday but acknowledged there was more work to do.
“Here at home, inflation is coming down. Here at home, gas prices are down $1.50 from their peak. Food Inflation is coming down, not fast enough but coming down,” he said.
Point Loma resident Ana Christopher said she’s noticed the cost of her groceries continue to climb. She pointed out the small package of strawberries in her basket Wednesday that cost $5.99
“I think dairy has gone up, vegetables have gone up. I mean exorbitantly no, but you definitely see it on the price tag.”
Christopher has been shopping at Stump’s grocery store in Point Loma since 1991. She said she gets a good deal at the locally-owned store and shops at Costco to cut costs.
Eugene Benjamin, the meat department manager at the store, said he’s been able to lower the cost of some items recently including bone-in chicken products.
“A lot more customers are coming in and I’ve been able to drop a lot of the prices down. Instead of seeing chicken at like $4.99 you’re seeing it at 69 cents, so it’s a huge difference for us.”
But he said pre-packaged pork like bacon and smokies remain highly priced.
“Pork has been strange,” he said adding customers often comment on how expensive a package of bacon is.
One package of Oscar Mayer’s bacon was listed for $10.99 in the store Wednesday.
In San Diego, the latest numbers from the Consumer Price Index in November show prices for groceries dropped almost two percent due largely to lower fruit and veggie costs.
But prices for food at home were still 10 per cent higher than a year ago due in large part to rising dairy costs, which have risen 30.1 percent.
The January Consumer Price Index for the San Diego area is scheduled to be released next week.
