SummitPlateLatest BLS grocery price data, translated for dinner
Latest grocery price index 2026: BLS food CPI, USDA outlook, and what it means for dinner
See the latest BLS food-at-home CPI context, USDA grocery price outlook notes, staple food pressure, and the practical planning move for families trying to turn real groceries into realistic dinners.
Reviewed September 23, 2026 • BLS release: September 11, 2026
August grocery inflation: flat for the month, up 2.2% for the year
A flat month does not mean prices returned to earlier levels. Use the inflation reading to understand the direction of prices, and the historical chart to compare changes over time.
Quick answer
In August 2026, grocery prices were unchanged from July and 2.2% higher than a year earlier. Restaurant prices rose 0.3% for the month and 3.4% over the year. The monthly grocery change is seasonally adjusted. The monthly restaurant change and both annual changes are not seasonally adjusted. These measure inflation, not the cost of a household grocery basket.
Source: BLS August 2026 CPI release, Table A. Historical charts, staple prices and downloads below retain the data available for our September 3 report: BLS CPI and staple-price observations through July 2026.
If you need the official forecast
Use USDA ERS Food Price Outlook and BLS CPI as the source of record for inflation, category forecasts, and official food price methodology.
USDA Food Price OutlookIf you need the dinner plan
Use SummitPlate to turn price pressure into shared ingredients, pantry-first dinners, and one grocery list for the week.
Meal planner with grocery listMake the index personal
What does this grocery signal mean for your household?
Start with household size, then adjust income and store type in the calculator. The result is a planning estimate, not a guaranteed spending target.
Quotable snapshot
The latest family dinner spread is $36.10.
In the September 2026 update, SummitPlate uses Latest BLS food price data available as of September 3, 2026: July 2026; USDA ERS August 2026 Food Price Outlook Summary Findings. BLS August 2026 CPI is scheduled for September 11, 2026 to estimate a planned home dinner for four at $17.40 versus $53.50 for casual takeout for four.
Takeout ratio
3.1x
Casual takeout estimate versus the planned home dinner estimate in the latest row.
Download data
Historical food at home CPI
321.6
1.3% above January in this tracker.
Historical restaurant CPI
396.9
Food away from home keeps pressure on takeout nights.
Home dinner for 4
$17.40
SummitPlate planning estimate for a basic dinner at home.
Takeout for 4
$53.50
Casual family takeout estimate used for planning context.
Historical BLS readings
Grocery and restaurant price levels over time.
Chart coverage: Apr 25 through Jul 26. Both lines start at 100 and share one scale. A value of 102 means prices are 2% above the starting month; it is not monthly inflation. October 2025 is missing from this dataset. Points show available observations, with September followed by November.
Food at home
+3.1%
since Apr 25
Restaurants
+4.4%
since Apr 25
View chart data and units
Source: BLS food at home and food away from home, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted. Original CPI uses 1982–84 = 100; chart values rebase each series to its first observation. This historical table ends before the August release summarized above.
| Month | Grocery CPI | Restaurant CPI | Grocery chart index | Restaurant chart index |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 25 | 311.840 | 380.039 | 100.00 | 100.00 |
| May 25 | 312.491 | 381.228 | 100.21 | 100.31 |
| Jun 25 | 313.028 | 382.750 | 100.38 | 100.71 |
| Jul 25 | 313.263 | 383.808 | 100.46 | 100.99 |
| Aug 25 | 314.608 | 384.909 | 100.89 | 101.28 |
| Sep 25 | 316.042 | 385.451 | 101.35 | 101.42 |
| Nov 25 | 313.954 | 387.202 | 100.68 | 101.88 |
| Dec 25 | 315.664 | 389.889 | 101.23 | 102.59 |
| Jan 26 | 317.431 | 390.471 | 101.79 | 102.74 |
| Feb 26 | 318.898 | 391.706 | 102.26 | 103.07 |
| Mar 26 | 318.755 | 392.652 | 102.22 | 103.32 |
| Apr 26 | 320.859 | 393.546 | 102.89 | 103.55 |
| May 26 | 321.047 | 394.728 | 102.95 | 103.87 |
| Jun 26 | 321.631 | 395.633 | 103.14 | 104.10 |
| Jul 26 | 321.643 | 396.859 | 103.14 | 104.43 |
Since people started watching inflation
Cumulative food inflation since January 2021
Compared with January 2021, the latest BLS food data through July 2026shows why families still feel like dinner got permanently more expensive.
Groceries
+27.6%
Restaurant meals
+32.1%
Ground beef
+73.6%
Eggs
+49.3%
Chicken breast
+27.4%
Milk
+24.4%
Calculated from BLS January 2021 and July 2026 readings for the same CPI and average retail food price series used in the SummitPlate Grocery Price Index.
Current staple prices
What to do this month
- Put beef in the one meal where it matters most, then use chicken, beans, eggs, or pantry proteins elsewhere instead of buying beef by default.
- Treat the nearly flat grocery index as a reason to plan carefully, not a signal that every aisle got cheaper; staple prices moved in different directions.
- Assign a realistic backup dinner to the busiest night before shopping, because restaurant prices kept rising even while the at-home index held steady.
Turn the price signal into a plan
Do not stop at knowing prices went up. Use the data to tighten the week.
The latest report is getting visibility because families are trying to understand grocery pressure. The next useful step is a grocery-ready week: one budget, shared ingredients, fewer duplicate buys, and one fallback dinner before takeout becomes the plan.
Turn prices into one grocery-list budget
Route the monthly price signal into planned dinners, one list, and fewer duplicate buys.
Build one grocery-list week
Convert price pressure into a connected week with shared ingredients, pantry checks, and one practical list.
Plan the week around a grocery budget
Turn a weekly spending target into connected dinners, shared ingredients, and one practical list.
Waste less of what you buy
Use ingredient overlap and use-first planning so price-aware groceries actually become dinner.
Shop smarter on a budget
Use the budget guide for store-brand, unit-price, pickup, and pantry-first grocery decisions.
Monthly report archive
Each monthly report turns the official food price data into a simple family dinner read: what changed, what matters, and what to plan next.
January 2026
January 2026 Grocery Price Index: Family Dinner Costs Start the Year High
The January 2026 SummitPlate Grocery Price Index tracks grocery prices, takeout inflation, and what the latest data means for family dinner planning.
February 2026
February 2026 Grocery Price Index: Eggs Ease, Dinner Still Needs a Plan
The February 2026 Grocery Price Index tracks easing egg prices, steady grocery inflation, restaurant costs, and the family dinner planning impact.
March 2026
March 2026 Grocery Price Index: Beef Pressure Returns to the Dinner Plan
The March 2026 Grocery Price Index covers grocery inflation, restaurant prices, beef pressure, and practical dinner planning moves for families.
April 2026
April 2026 Grocery Price Index: Groceries Rise While Eggs Keep Cooling
The April 2026 Grocery Price Index shows grocery CPI rising, eggs easing, beef staying high, and takeout remaining the costly fallback.
May 2026
May 2026 Grocery Price Index: BLS Food CPI + Family Dinner Moves
See the May 2026 Grocery Price Index with BLS food-at-home CPI, staple prices, takeout pressure, and the family dinner move for the week.
June 2026
June 2026 Grocery Price Index: BLS Food CPI + USDA Outlook
See June 2026 Grocery Price Index context from BLS food-at-home CPI, USDA Food Price Outlook, staple prices, beef pressure, egg relief, and dinner planning moves.
July 2026
July 2026 Grocery Price Index: Beef Eases, Groceries Still Need a Plan
See July 2026 Grocery Price Index context from BLS food-at-home CPI, USDA Food Price Outlook, staple prices, beef easing, egg relief, and dinner planning moves.
August 2026
August 2026 Grocery Price Index: Eggs Fall, Beef and Milk Climb
See the August 2026 Grocery Price Index with June BLS food CPI, falling egg prices, rising beef and milk costs, USDA forecasts, and practical dinner moves.
September 2026
September 2026 Grocery Price Index: Groceries Flatten, Takeout Climbs
See the September 2026 Grocery Price Index with July BLS food CPI, staple prices, rising takeout costs, USDA forecasts, and practical family dinner moves.
Methodology and sources
This index is built for practical dinner planning, not academic inflation modeling. SummitPlate uses official BLS food-at-home, food-away-from-home, and selected U.S. city average staple price series, then pairs those signals with USDA ERS food-price context, a planned-home-dinner estimate, and a casual-takeout estimate for four.
The home-dinner and takeout-for-four numbers are SummitPlate planning estimates for translating official price signals into a family dinner decision. They are not official BLS series. For dish-level restaurant craving estimates, see the Fast Food Dupe Savings Tracker.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI and average retail food price series
Official CPI food-at-home and food-away-from-home indexes plus U.S. city average retail price series for eggs, ground beef, boneless chicken breast, milk, and white bread.
BLS Public Data API
Series used: CUUR0000SAF11, CUUR0000SEFV, APU0000708111, APU0000703112, APU0000FF1101, APU0000709112, APU0000702111.
USDA Economic Research Service Food Price Outlook
Monthly context for grocery and restaurant food price trends and annual food price forecasts. USDA ERS summary findings are used to separate observed BLS readings from forecast context; each monthly report states the official data window and forecast release it uses.
Cite this page
Source-ready citation for writers and journalists
SummitPlate. "Family Dinner Cost Index." SummitPlate Grocery Price Index, updated 2026-09-03. https://www.summitplate.com/grocery-price-index. Methodology and reuse: https://www.summitplate.com/grocery-price-index/methodology.
This hub is the canonical page for the Family Dinner Cost Index. Monthly reports, the dupe tracker, and external citations should link back here so source references consolidate on the main data asset.
For journalists, bloggers, and resource editors, see the Grocery Price Index press kit for citation guidance, downloadable data, embed code, and story angles. Full source definitions, missing-data policy, estimate boundaries, and reuse terms live on the dedicated methodology page.
Turn this month's prices into a realistic weekly meal plan.
The data is useful, but the win is action: fewer duplicate groceries, fewer wasted ingredients, and fewer expensive 6pm takeout calls.