A mom-of-three from Pennsylvania was left stunned after comparing the grocery prices from a series of photos dating back to 2019 with the cost of the same food items today.
There has been a dramatic rise in the cost of groceries over the past few years. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, food prices rose by 25 percent from 2019 to 2023.
It’s an increase that’s hitting consumers hard. Heather Paul from Philadelphia has three young children aged six, five and two and told Newsweek she is “absolutely aware of the surging cost of groceries.”
“I used to go shopping and not worry about what was in my cart,” she said. “Now, I’m checking my bank account before I walk in the store, using a calculator and finding myself putting items back. I’ve cried in the parking lot sitting in my car. It’s been really hard.”
The stark reality of her situation was brought into sharp focus recently though when she started going through her phone, looking at old photos.
“I was deleting old photos. I have a bad habit of never deleting anything and my phone was full,” she said. “I tend to take a lot of pictures and videos of my kids everywhere we go.”
As she was going back through the images, she came across a series of photos taken in supermarkets back in 2019. Paul noticed that the prices of several items in these grocery stores were visible in the pictures. “I was curious and decided to start zooming and comparing,” she said. “The outcome was shocking.”
The resulting comparisons were subsequently put together in a TikTok video, shared under her handle @heatherbeather88 alongside the caption: “Do you think they’ll ever help us? I seriously hope so.”
The video started with her zooming in on a box of 28 bags of potato chips, priced at $9.98 back in 2019. When Paul searches for the same item today, however, it brings up nearly identical products being sold by several stores for anywhere between $15 and $30.
A Ranch salad dressing is on sale at $4.19 in 2019, but comes in anywhere between $6.99 and $8.75 depending on where you shop today, according to her search results. Elsewhere a Marinara sauce, $6.24 in 2019, is being sold for $8.52, while a Salisbury steak ready meal, sold for $2 back then, is now $4.49, reduced down from $4.99 with one store.
The comparison left Paul feeling cold. “I knew it was bad but just seeing it side by side is unsettling to say the least,” she said. “To be honest I was not surprised. I knew it was worse than what they have been telling us.”
Of all the items she compared, Paul said the jump in price for the box of chips is the one that “blows” her mind. “I used to buy that same box for $9, sometimes less if there was a sale. Now you’ll be hard pressed to find them for less than $20,” she said.
Paul also wonders what the difference in prices would be like on things like butter and bacon which she says were “once everyday groceries that have become a luxury.”
At the time of writing, Paul’s video has been watched 3.6 million times, with viewers putting the changes down to “inflation” and “greed,” with some even warning “it’s about to get even worse.”
Paul isn’t entirely surprised to see the anger generated by the video and is calling for action. “Americans are struggling to afford groceries. It shouldn’t be this way,” she said. “We’re tired. We’re over it. We need a change.”
Whether something is done about what she views as a dangerous escalation in living costs remains to be seen but Paul believes something has got to give. “I can’t keep living this way,” she said. “This isn’t the American dream. It’s a nightmare.”
The post Mom Zooms In on 2019 Photos at Grocery Stores, Can’t Believe What She Sees appeared first on Newsweek.
