Why Is Produce So Expensive in 2024? Woman Says Grape Prices Are "Out of Control"

It's pretty shocking that in a country that wastes 80 million tons of food every year (still less than India or China, USA! USA!) the biggest rising expenditure American families are forced to shell out their hard-earned cash for is...food. 76% of all US citizens are feeling the burn of food inflation, including a mom who recently went viral on TikTok complaining about the price of grapes.

TikToker Jessica Chase (@_jesschase) uploaded a viral clip delineating just how upset she was over what she paid for a single bag of grapes after her son requested them during a trip to the grocery store.

"How do grapes cost this much in 2024?!" a text overlay in the TikTok reads as Jessica records herself reaching for a bag of fruit, which she plops down on the table. She begins referencing the package of green grapes in her TikTok video.

"Ok where are these freaking grapes? Okay, how much do you think these non-organic grapes cost? Just, throwing it out there. They cost thirteen, freaking dollars. I literally cannot believe that. I still ended up buying them because I let my son pick out one item from the store, and this is what he picked," she said.

The mom continued to discuss the exorbitant price for the fruit: "But I cannot believe that standard grapes cost thirteen dollars. Insane," she says in the video before it ultimately cuts out.

She's not the only mom who's expressed their concerns with food inflation on the internet. One Canadian shopper says that her grocery bills are so exorbitantly high up north that she crosses the border into America every day because as high as the cost of food in the states is, it's not as bad as it is in Maple Leaf country.

Then this mom showed the paltry amount of items $70 at Walmart cost her, and several other folks on the web were equally shocked by her haul.

The magic $70 figure that elicits gasps from other consumers on the web reverberated in another TikToker's post, who also displayed her not-so-impressive assortment of goods that also cost her around $70 at Target.

The recurring theme among many consumers is that they are ultimately fed up with the amount of inflation that's occurring throughout a variety of different industries for all different types of goods and services.

Food inflation, especially when it comes to grocery stores and food-away-from-home (restaurants, cafes, eating out, etc), is only going to increase, according to the USDA.

While many of these price hikes have been attributed to supply chain shortages which were caused by the halting of operations many companies faced in response to the social distancing and government-issued-stay-at-home mandates implemented in response to the fervor surrounding COVID-19, others have said that "greed" is the impetus behind the cost increases — like this dad who was shocked to spend $53 for Taco Bell for a family of four.

It's not hard to understand why he would feel this way: McDonald's has been previously called out by consumers for price "gouging" consumers, and the criticism has been so persistent that reps from the popular burger franchise have even addressed these concerns and said that lowering its prices will become a top priority.

And although Mickey D's has experienced a spike in sales growth ever since it's implemented historically higher pricing for its items, it's not because the chain has brought in newer diners — quite the opposite actually.

Business Insider has reported that the chain has lost a sizable amount of lower-income shoppers, which could ultimately harm the chain's bottom line if this consumer base heads to other fast food joints for food-away-from-home wares, and then become accustomed to these offerings. If inflation rates do subside and competing fast casual chains begin to decrease the prices of their offerings, then McDonald's could find itself in a real pickle.

CBS News also questioned why, despite "cooling" inflation rates, how grocery stores and overall food prices are continuing to rise, which seems contradictory. It also doesn't seem like there's going to be much relief for consumers throughout 2024, either — although the rate of inflation is set to advance at a slower rate. So at least there's that.