Understanding this pillar
What this pillar measures
The food pillar: tracking changes in grocery prices without assuming a particular household’s shopping bill.
Food-at-home CPI measures price changes for food purchased for consumption at home. This chart shows the seasonally adjusted U.S. city average series. The reference average for 1982–84 is 100. It is an index of price movement, not the dollar cost of a fixed cart on this website.
How to read the chart
Use ratios between observations to calculate a price change. An index level of 300 means three times the reference-period level, not $300 and not 300% annual inflation. A slower increase means inflation slowed; only a lower index indicates prices fell over that interval.
Illustration: a move from 300 to 306 represents 2% growth. Applying that rate to a hypothetical $150 basket gives $153, but only under the assumption that the basket follows this national index.
What moves this measure
Individual food categories can move differently, so the combined index reflects their weighted contribution.
Seasonal adjustment helps separate recurring calendar patterns from other month-to-month changes; adjusted history can be revised.
What it does not tell you
The index does not represent restaurant meals, every store, every brand, or a specific local shopping basket.
Buying more items, changing brands, or using different discounts can change a personal bill independently of this index.
When the numbers change
BLS publishes monthly CPI observations. A month’s index is not a price quote refreshed at the checkout counter. This chart stays at its recorded value until newer published data is collected.
Is this an inflation-adjusted grocery bill?
No. The older address is retained, but the chart now presents the actual food-at-home price index. No made-up starting household bill is used.
Sources and methodology
Shows the published, seasonally adjusted food-at-home CPI index without converting it into an assumed grocery bill. The 1982–84 average equals 100.