---
title: "Food Price Inflation (CPI)"
slug: food-price-inflation
summary: "Food prices were 2.5% higher than a year earlier in September 2026, down from a rate of 3.1% in September 2025."
category: "Prices"
unit: percent
frequency: monthly
direction: higher_is_worse
latest_value: 2.45289196283973
latest_period: "2026-09"
trend: unknown
trend_suppressed: "rate_of_change_series"
last_updated: "2026-10-14T00:00:00Z"
source: "U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics"
measurement_basis: "Year-over-year percent change computed from the seasonally adjusted BLS Food CPI (CUSR0000SAF1); seasonally adjusted values may be revised"
source_url: https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SAF1
canonical_html: https://americandefault.org/indicators/food-price-inflation/
citation_apa: "Kilburn, R. (2026). Food Price Inflation (CPI) [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/food-price-inflation/"
citation_chicago: "Kilburn, Ross. 2026. \"Food Price Inflation (CPI).\" American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/food-price-inflation/."
citation_mla: "Kilburn, Ross. \"Food Price Inflation (CPI).\" American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/food-price-inflation/."
---

# Food Price Inflation (CPI)

> Food prices were 2.5% higher than a year earlier in September 2026, down from a rate of 3.1% in September 2025.

## Current Reading

As of September 2026, Food Price Inflation (CPI) is **2.45%**.

## What Changed

- Food prices were 2.5% higher than a year earlier in September 2026, down from a rate of 3.1% in September 2025.
- The rate edged down from 2.6% in August 2026, too small a move to call a turn.
- The lowest rate since January 2025.

## Recent Values

| Period | Value |
|--------|-------|
| 2026-09 | 2.45% |
| 2026-08 | 2.63% |
| 2026-07 | 2.94% |
| 2026-06 | 2.99% |
| 2026-05 | 3.08% |
| 2026-04 | 3.22% |
| 2026-03 | 2.75% |
| 2026-02 | 3.14% |
| 2026-01 | 2.93% |
| 2025-12 | 3.04% |
| 2025-11 | 2.62% |
| 2025-09 | 3.11% |

## Historical Context

- Peak since 2001: **11.39%** in August 2022
- Low since 2001: **-0.68%** in November 2009
- Pre-pandemic average (2015-01 – 2019-12): **1.26%**
- Post-pandemic average (2020-01 – 2024-12): **5.08%**

## Methodology

This indicator carries monthly observations and is interpreted as higher values indicate worse household conditions. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Measurement basis: Year-over-year percent change computed from the seasonally adjusted BLS Food CPI (CUSR0000SAF1); seasonally adjusted values may be revised
Automation: collected automatically on the daily refresh pipeline, with no hand entry.

## Source

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — [https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SAF1](https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SAF1)

Data retrieved: 2026-10-14T00:00:00Z

## Related Indicators

- [grocery-prices-cumulative-change-since-jan-2020](https://americandefault.org/indicators/grocery-prices-cumulative-change-since-jan-2020/)
- [the-grocery-gap](https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-grocery-gap/)

## Machine-Readable Endpoints

- HTML page: https://americandefault.org/indicators/food-price-inflation/
- JSON: https://americandefault.org/api/indicators/food-price-inflation.json
- CSV: https://americandefault.org/api/downloads/food-price-inflation.csv
- BibTeX: https://americandefault.org/citations/food-price-inflation.bib
- RIS: https://americandefault.org/citations/food-price-inflation.ris

## Citation

**APA 7th**

    Kilburn, R. (2026). Food Price Inflation (CPI) [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/food-price-inflation/

**Chicago (author-date)**

    Kilburn, Ross. 2026. "Food Price Inflation (CPI)." American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/food-price-inflation/.

**MLA 9th**

    Kilburn, Ross. "Food Price Inflation (CPI)." American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/food-price-inflation/.

Use **American Default Research** as the institutional name in source lists, bibliographies, and press citations. **American Default** is the brand and URL form. **American Distress Index (ADI)** is the product name for the national composite score.