Little Rock, Arkansas – Over the past few months, food costs have increased more than many individuals would like.
David Rice, the owner of Bramble Market, is aware of the problem because his locally sourced store is in danger of closing due in part to inflation.
“One of the reasons we’re closing is just keeping up with inflation… ever-changing prices,” Rice said.
The topic of foodstuffs has centered on eggs, which may also be the most contentious item.
“Egg prices… we’d see them for $8 a dozen at the big box stores,” Rice said.
Many would look for a place like the Bramble Market in an effort to undercut that pricing. The main drawback was that Rice was unable to keep up with the rapid changes in those prices.
“Keeping up with the rising and dropping cost of everything’s pretty tough,” Rice said.
For shoppers, there is some good news, though. Eggs are now less expensive at the grocery store.
“We’ve been seeing a downward trend for a while,” Economist Bruce James said.
The price of eggs is decreasing, which is good news. It’s taking longer than we might like, which is the bad news.
“We’ll see the price of eggs come back down to a fairly normal price again because we’ve got the increase right now,” James said. “The problem is a downward price trend, but not as fast as we’d like to see them.”
Rice is also well-versed in that. Although he is pleased to see prices fall, he wishes they will remain more stable.
“It’s tough,” Rice said. “Then folks come in, and they may tell me how much cheaper it is at the big box store, but you know we can’t compete with all that.”