Is Your Grocery Bill Getting More Expensive?

Is Your Grocery Bill Getting More Expensive?

By Cameron Valdez, Louisiana State University student, and Louisiana Progress College Fellow

As a senior in college, I often reflect on my early adjustment to adulthood. One of the biggest shocks was learning how much of my budget groceries actually consume. Every week, my grocery bill is unpredictable, but always high enough to make me feel it in my wallet. One week it’s the bread, the next it’s the eggs, and somehow something different is always responsible for sending that total price soaring. But you unfortunately don’t need to be a college student to understand that frustration. 

Since 2022, the average American grocery bill has increased by almost 20 percent. That means a grocery bill that cost $100 back then would now cost around $119.60. For many households, that $20 difference is the cost of a few days of gas or an essential household item. These high costs have real-life consequences. In Louisiana, an estimated 827,690 people live without consistent access to food, and 248,630 of those people are children. So, why are we paying so much for something as basic as food? Who is responsible for these rising costs? To some extent, it’s the grocery stores themselves. 

Most of us buy our food from the same place: big-box supermarkets. Giant corporations like Walmart, Costco, Albertsons, and Kroger dominate the national grocery industry. Together, these four companies control nearly two-thirds of the entire grocery market, with Walmart alone capturing one out of every five dollars Americans spend on groceries. For many people, it’s hard to remember the last time they saw a fully stocked, fully functional local grocery store in their neighborhood. The disappearance of these small, locally owned grocers reflects a much larger dynamic that hits us directly in our wallets. 

For years, dominant grocery chains used low prices to pull in customers. In fact, since 2007 Walmart’s official slogan has been “Save Money. Live Better.” Americans were handed convenient and affordable groceries on a silver platter. How could we resist? 

As profits increased for big corporations and their presence began to dominate the market, small locally owned grocery stores struggled to stay afloat and stand out, not just with consumers but with food and beverage suppliers too. In the grocery industry, money is power. 

Massive corporations have significant leverage over food and beverage suppliers. Large grocery chains use their market power to negotiate lower wholesale prices, better promotional deals, priority access to products and more favorable terms. 

That imbalance left small grocers at a severe disadvantage. They couldn’t offer the profit margins that food and beverage suppliers get from big chains, leaving suppliers with almost no incentive to prioritize them. That meant bare shelves and painfully high prices on whatever they could keep in stock. One of the most prevalent barriers independent grocers face is a limited supply chain and reduced access to the same product selection as large chains. 

Distributors often maintain separate product catalogs for big supermarkets and small stores, prioritizing large corporations with higher profit margins. Preferential access gives big chains broader supply catalogs, more reliable inventory, and promotional advantages. Over time, these pressures resulted in the quiet disappearance of independent grocery stores in communities across Louisiana and the entire U.S. 

This is where the illusion of affordability falls apart. Once you’re the main grocer, you don’t have to fight as hard to keep prices low. Your consumer base is essentially secured, and chances are they do not have access to another grocer in their area. You can raise the price of basic items like eggs, milk, and bread because you know consumers need those items no matter what. It’s not like we can just decide not to buy groceries. So we end up paying whatever they decide to charge.

The disappearance of local grocery stores has consequences that reach far beyond convenience. In neighborhoods like the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, only one functioning grocery store remains, and the nearest supermarket is miles away. Residents often have to take multiple buses just to buy basic necessities. When major corporations decide a community is not profitable enough to serve, families are left without reliable access to fresh food once local grocers close. 

This problem is not limited to one neighborhood. Across Louisiana, 47 percent of residents age 60 and older do not have enough food for an active and healthy life, which is the highest rate in the country. More people in this state struggle with hunger than the populations of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and Monroe combined.

Addressing these issues isn’t just about lower costs. It’s about improving the lives of the people who feel these shortages every day. Children who have consistent access to food tend to perform better in school, have stronger long-term health outcomes, and are more likely to achieve financial independence. Local grocery stores provide healthy, affordable, and accessible options that make that possible, and protecting them strengthens our communities. 

House Bill 800 tries to address the unfair practices that make it difficult for small grocery stores to survive. Right now, the largest companies in the food supply chain can use their size to secure better deals, better prices, and better access to products than smaller retailers ever receive. HB800 aims to level that playing field. The bill requires major food suppliers to offer the same basic terms to all retailers, not just the biggest ones. It also allows smaller grocers to request anonymized versions of the deals offered to dominant chains, giving them a clearer understanding of what fair pricing should look like. 

This bill also prevents suppliers from refusing to sell to smaller retailers who have a history of paying on time and who are simply asking for equal treatment. In addition, it prohibits large retailers or their agents from pressuring suppliers into giving them special treatment at the expense of smaller businesses. 

By removing these barriers, HB 800 helps ensure that independent grocery stores can access the same products, prices, and supply chains they need to stay open and competitive. In communities where large corporations choose not to operate, this support can make the difference between having a local grocery store and having none at all. 

Everyone deserves a fair chance at putting food on the table without breaking their budget. Grocery shopping should not feel like a financial burden or a privilege reserved for certain neighborhoods. By supporting policies that strengthen local grocers and create a more level playing field, we can rebuild access to fresh, affordable food in the communities that need it most. HB 800 is a meaningful step toward a grocery system that works for all of us, not just the biggest players.