Senate Democrats host food cost hearing
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State Senate Democrats are taking aim at the rising cost of groceries in the commonwealth.
The party's Policy Committee recently held a hearing that examined the status of grocery affordability for Pennsylvanians and food production-related pressures including rising input costs such as fuel and fertilizer.
"Every week I hear from families across my district that every trip to the grocery store is putting more strain on their pockets, while our farmers are facing growing challenges from unpredictable weather, rising production costs, and other pressures beyond their control," said Sen. Nick Miller, D-Allentown. "As chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, I convened this hearing to better understand what's driving these costs and identify practical solutions to help develop policies that strengthen Pennsylvania agriculture, protect our food supply, and help make groceries more affordable for working families."
Wendell Young IV, president of UFCW Local 1776, representing nearly 30,000 workers across about 100 contracts, blamed federal actions for part of the reason food prices have gone up, specifically uncertainty surrounding tariffs, immigration and what changes to the federal SNAP program could mean for consumers.
"What does this mean? You can guess it. We will see more price increases on retail grocery shelves in the future. Layoffs, hiring freezes and wage stagnation will continue in an already traditional low-wage sector. Consumers will feel this price impact immediately, workers will be left in the dust, and taxpayers will shoulder the burden with increased public assistance costs," Young wrote in his written testimony.
The Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association emphasized that rising costs of living are stretching family budgets across the state, and that the affordability of everyday essentials, especially food, remains a major concern for Pennsylvania residents.
Russell Redding, state agriculture secretary, said farmers are facing unprecedented pressures from rising production costs, labor shortages, unpredictable weather, and emerging plant and animal diseases. Additionally, global supply chain disruptions, international conflicts, tariffs, and market consolidation have contributed to higher grocery prices for Pennsylvania's consumers. Despite strong state investments and efforts to build a resilient food system, many producers operate with narrowing margins and have limited control over commodity prices, while elevated costs for fertilizer, feed, fuel, and equipment continue to strain farm viability.
"Affordability doesn't begin in the checkout lane. It begins with building food systems that are resilient, competitive and work for everyone," Redding said. "That means recognizing a simple truth: we cannot have affordable food without successful farms. We cannot have food security without resilient supply chains. We can't build a stronger commonwealth unless everyone, from the producer to the consumer, has a place at the table."
Representing the charitable food network, Julie Bancroft of Feeding Pennsylvania, Colleen Young of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, and Jordan Golin of Jewish Family and Community Services of Pittsburgh drew attention to the increased traffic to food banks, even as the costs of purchasing and transporting food has gone up for the charitable food systems. Between increased operational costs and increased needs, charitable food networks are doing more with less to address food insecurity across Pennsylvania.
"Transportation costs add another layer," Bancroft said. "The mid-Atlantic regional cooperative feeding PA program that supplies produce to thirty seven food banks in 14 states along the eastern seaboard has seen delivery costs rise sharply. The cost to ship a truckload of produce from Philadelphia to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank - last year that was $1475. That same truck of produce now costs $1775 to get across the state. Also, the average cost per pound of produce has increased from 22 cents to thirty cents. All of this leaves food banks scrambling to do more with less, just as families are doing the same."
"Our neighborhood food pantry - our costs are going up by about $100,000 a year," said Jordan Golin. "Why is that happening?...Rising food costs, food inflation, cuts to government support for food banks across the country, and we're seeing the increased need of families across our region coming to us. So the numbers of people we're serving are going up as the cost of food is also going up, and the resources to provide this food are going down."
U.S. inflation cooled in June, according to a recent Associated Press report, as the cost of gas, clothes, and used cars fell, providing some relief to consumers, while underlying price pressures also slowed more than expected.
Consumer prices dropped 0.4% from May to June, the largest monthly drop in four years, the Labor Department said Tuesday, after rising 0.5% in the previous month. On a yearly basis, inflation declined to 3.5%, down from a year-over-year gain of 4.2% in May and lower than many economists expected.
Excluding the food and energy categories, core prices were unchanged from May to June, a positive sign that underlying inflation is declining. On a yearly basis, core prices rose just 2.6%, down from 2.9% the previous month. Core inflation remains above the Federal Reserve's target of 2%.
Groceries rose 0.2% from May to June and are up 2.7% from last year, while apartment rental costs cooled, rising just 0.1% last month and 2.8% from a year ago.