Southwest Allegheny News

The cost of some basic food staples in Washington and cities across Pennsylvania, such as fruit, has increased by 439% since 2021.

That’s according to an analysis of Shop ’n Save grocery ads by Keystone Today.

A 6 oz package of blackberries at the supermarket chain has a regular price of $5.39 as of July 23, 2024, which is $4.39 as of June 20, 2024, which is $2.61 more than the $1.00 for the same size package of blackberries on January 20, 2021. 

That marks a total increase of 493% for blackberries since 2021 at Albertson's, outpacing the supposed 2.7% inflation rate for food for the last year, as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Inflation fell in June, 2024, for the first time in four years, as inflation has steadily increased throughout the Biden-Harris administration. 

These rising inflation costs have an outsized impact on Pennsylvania, ranked 5th in the country for the number of citizens age 65 and over.

A poll released earlier this month found that rising inflation costs are causing seniors to cut back on everyday expenses, reported Keystone Today.

Fifty-two percent of older Americans said they cut back on at least one every day expense during the past year, and 53% said they felt stress about personal finances, according to the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging.

The poll also found that 16% of older adults said they’ve had trouble paying for health-related costs, or even delayed or avoided getting healthcare, because of rising costs. 

Pennsylvanians have been feeling the impact of inflation, with the average household in the state spending $958 more per month in June 2024 to purchase the same level of goods and services that they purchased in January 2021, according to a report from the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee.

The average household in the Keystone State has spent $22,492 more due to inflation over that same time period.

A survey of Pennsylvania voters released July 2 by the Commonwealth Foundation found that 69% of the state’s voters said inflation and price increases impacted their household’s ability to maintain their standard of living either “a great deal” or “a fair amount”.

Given those rising costs, and the University of Michigan poll findings, Pennsylvania is particularly impacted by the rising costs of inflation, with twenty percent of the state’s population being age 65 and over, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Pennsylvania is ranked fifth among the fifty states for the number of people age 65 and over, according to a 2017 Penn State study, and that older population grew at a rate 20 times faster than the state’s general population from 2010 to 2017, increasing by 16.3%. 

The poll was conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation (IHPI). The survey was administered online and via phone among 3,370 adults age 50 to 101 in February and March 2024. 

Shop 'n Save was founded in 1968 as one of the nation's first discount grocery companies. Their headquarters were established in Pittsburgh in 1977 when the company acquired wholesaler Charley Brothers.

The company now operates over 80 independently owned stores across Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia.

One of their locations is the Washington Shop 'N Save, located at 125 W. Beau St. in Washington.  

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How much have your staple food items increased in price at Shop N Save since January 2021?

Sources: Frequent-ads.com/shop-n-save

Item	Price 1/21	Unit	Price 7/24
fresh chicken drumsticks	$1.00	per pound	$2.39
blackberries	$1.00	6 oz package	$5.39
jumbo naval oranges	$1.00	each	$1.09
bone-in center cut pork loin rib chops	$1.99	per pound	$5.29
Angus boneless shoulder chuck roast	$3.99	per pound	$7.49
Red Pack canned tomatoes	$1.25	28-29 oz can	$2.79
Ragu pasta sauce	$1.50	18-24 oz jar	$2.69
Kraft salad dressing	$2.00	14-16 oz	$4.29
Tropicana pure premium orange juice	$3.33	52 oz bottle	$5.39
Pepsi	$5.00	18 pack 12 oz cans	$10.69
Delallo bread crumbs	$1.99	8-15 oz	$3.19
Chicken of the Sea chunk light tuna	$1.00	3.75-5 oz can	$1.39
Banquet frozen pot pies	$1.00	7 oz package	$1.89
Doritos	$2.50	5-8 oz bag	$2.89
Turkey Hill ice cream	$3.33	48 oz carton	7.09**
Colonial Inn egg noodles	$1.50	12 oz package	$3.19
red raspberries	$3.00	6 oz package	$5.39
80% lean ground chuck	$3.49	per pound	$5.69
boneless thin sliced chicken breast	$3.99	per pound	$7.49
boneless top sirloin steaks	$5.99	per pound	$10.99
Angus boneless chuck tender roast	$4.49	per pound	$7.49
Oscar Meyer lunchables	$3.00	8-11 oz package	$4.29
Heinz ketchup	$2.50	20 oz bottle	$4.89
Coffee-mate flavored creamer	$5.99	64 oz bottle	$8.09
Daisy cottage cheese	$3.50	24 oz	$4.89
Dannon Greek yogurt	$3.50	4-count package	$5.69
Maxwell House coffee	$5.99	24.5-30.6 oz	$10.69
Capri Sun drinks	$2.50	10 count box	$4.29
Kleenex facial tissues	$1.67	45-144 count package	$2.69
Gain liquid dish detergent	$1.99	21.6 oz bottle	$2.59

**Note: the sizes are slightly different. July 2024 price is for 46.08 ounces