I live in Hawaii, where grocery prices have always blown my mind — but take a look at what inflation has done

Mon, 02/06/2023 - 05:00

Tech Insider

Economy

• Morgan Pōmaikaʻi Lee moved to Hawaii in 2021 and was shocked by the prices.
• She visited two grocery stores and found that inflation has sent some food prices even higher, but not all.
• At Safeway, for instance, a dozen large eggs cost $8.50 — a $4 increase from last year — but beer was cheaper.

Two years ago, I moved to Honolulu, Hawaii to learn more about where my father grew up and explore my native Hawaiian identity.

Having previously lived in big cities like Chicago and New York City, I wasn't completely surprised by restaurant prices in Hawaii. But the grocery-store prices blew my mind.

The state of Hawaii has imported more than 80% of its food for decades, so prices have always been high, but inflation has reared its ugly face in paradise.

Source: Civil Beat

Global inflation was set to reach 8.8% in 2022, compared to 4.7% in 2021. This year, forecasters predict it will decrease slightly to 6.5%.

Source: International Monetary Fund

To see how inflation is playing out in grocery stores, I visited two popular grocers: Foodland, a popular local chain; and Safeway, which can be found in 18 states.

Source: Foodland, Safeway

I compared current grocery store prices against February 2022 figures from Numbeo, a database where users from around the world share costs-of-living.

Source: Numbeo

In 2022, one gallon of milk was $6.77. Today, it's regularly priced at about $9 and can be purchased on sale for $7.80 at Foodland.

Safeway's milk is actually cheaper at $7.50, but it still costs almost $1 more than it did in 2022.

In February 2022, a dozen eggs were $4.50. One year later and the sale price has almost doubled to $8.30 at Foodland.

Safeway carries a dozen large eggs for $8.50 — a $4 increase from 2022.

Last year, the price of apples ranged from $2 to $4. During this specific trip to Foodland, red delicious apples were about $3.

Safeway's red and yellow delicious apples go for about $2 a pound, which is comparable to prices from 2022.

Safeway had a variety of other apples selling at cheaper prices, but the honeycrisp apples were about $5 per pound, which is typical for that type of apple.

Source: Tasting Table

Bananas seem to be inflation-resistant. In 2022, they cost about $1.80. Now, Foodland sells them for even less at $1.40 a pound.

At Safeway bananas cost about $1.50 a pound — 30 cents cheaper than 2022.

Local tomatoes at Foodland start at around $3 a pound, which is cheaper than the $3.24 price from 2022.

However, tomato prices can run all the way up to $6 a pound.

At Safeway, tomatoes range from $4 to $4.50 a pound, up to $1.50 more than they cost in 2022.

A half-liter of domestic beer cost about $3.50 in 2022, but Foodland sells each one for about $4.00.

At Safeway, however, beer costs about $3 a can, and members can purchase it for as little as $2.50 — a whole dollar cheaper than in 2022.

Behold this watermelon being sold for about $1.60 a pound at Foodland. I couldn't find how much it cost in 2022, but this is a hefty price regardless.

It's not a large watermelon — just 7.5 pounds. Nevertheless, it costs around $12.

Safeway is selling these for what counts as a steal — about $7 each.

At Foodland, bread is regularly priced at $5.90 (though you can get it for $1.20 cheaper with a club card) and goes up depending on the brand. In 2022 it cost $5.24.

Safeway sells its sliced white bread for $5.19 or five cents cheaper than the previous year.

A head of lettuce was $3.86 in 2022. Right now, Foodland has it for about $4 per pound.

Safeway is definitely cheaper at about $3.30 per pound, but the price is still kind of discouraging for people who try to eat healthy.

During the first quarter of 2022, retail sales increased 26% from the previous year's sales, though Hawaii Public Radio noted this was likely due to inflation.

Source: Hawaii Public Radio

By October 2022, Hawaii's minimum wage increased from $10.10 to $12 an hour, but the staggering cost of groceries still makes it harder to manage money.

Source: Department of Labor and Industrial Relations

It's probably not a good idea, but I try to avoid looking at how much I spend on groceries — during this grocery store visit, I winced multiple times.

But all is not lost. Local lawmakers are exploring new subsidies to improve food sustainability for the state to become more independent.

Source: Civil Beat

Still, more native Hawaiians are living outside of the state than in it, due to high rent and food prices. If things don't change, I'm worried that even more Hawaiians will continue to leave the generational home they love.

Source: Star Advertiser

I hope economists and lawmakers around the world continue to prioritize slowing inflation, but there's also much to be done about Hawaii's generally high food cost.

                                     

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Tags

economy, Nordic, Features, Grocery Stores, Inflation, Groceries, Eggs, Prices, Shopping, BI-freelancer, contributor 2023, Manseen Logan

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I live in Hawaii, where grocery prices have always blown my mind — but take a l…