{"name":"SummitPlate Family Dinner Cost Index","updatedAt":"2026-05-21","canonicalUrl":"https://www.summitplate.com/grocery-price-index","methodology":"SummitPlate combines official BLS food-at-home, food-away-from-home, and staple food price series with practical family-dinner estimates for a planned dinner at home and casual takeout for four. BLS and USDA values are official source data; home-dinner and takeout-for-four figures are SummitPlate planning estimates used to make the monthly food-price signal actionable for weeknight dinner planning.","officialSources":[{"name":"U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI and average retail food price series","url":"https://www.bls.gov/cpi/data.htm","note":"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."},{"name":"BLS Public Data API","url":"https://www.bls.gov/developers/api_signature_v2.htm","note":"Series used: CUUR0000SAF11, CUUR0000SEFV, APU0000708111, APU0000703112, APU0000FF1101, APU0000709112, APU0000702111."},{"name":"USDA Economic Research Service Food Price Outlook","url":"https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-price-outlook","note":"Monthly context for grocery and restaurant food price trends and annual food price forecasts."}],"rows":[{"monthLabel":"April 2025","shortLabel":"Apr 25","foodAtHomeIndex":311.84,"foodAwayFromHomeIndex":380.039,"eggsPerDozen":5.122,"groundBeefPerPound":5.801,"chickenBreastPerPound":4.18,"milkPerGallon":4.074,"whiteBreadPerPound":1.913,"homeDinnerForFour":16.9,"takeoutDinnerForFour":51.2,"homeVsTakeoutSpread":34.3,"takeoutToHomeRatio":3.03},{"monthLabel":"May 2025","shortLabel":"May 25","foodAtHomeIndex":312.491,"foodAwayFromHomeIndex":381.228,"eggsPerDozen":4.548,"groundBeefPerPound":5.981,"chickenBreastPerPound":4.216,"milkPerGallon":4.022,"whiteBreadPerPound":1.876,"homeDinnerForFour":16.9,"takeoutDinnerForFour":51.3,"homeVsTakeoutSpread":34.4,"takeoutToHomeRatio":3.04},{"monthLabel":"June 2025","shortLabel":"Jun 25","foodAtHomeIndex":313.028,"foodAwayFromHomeIndex":382.75,"eggsPerDozen":3.775,"groundBeefPerPound":6.12,"chickenBreastPerPound":4.239,"milkPerGallon":4.029,"whiteBreadPerPound":1.864,"homeDinnerForFour":17,"takeoutDinnerForFour":51.5,"homeVsTakeoutSpread":34.5,"takeoutToHomeRatio":3.03},{"monthLabel":"July 2025","shortLabel":"Jul 25","foodAtHomeIndex":313.263,"foodAwayFromHomeIndex":383.808,"eggsPerDozen":3.599,"groundBeefPerPound":6.254,"chickenBreastPerPound":4.204,"milkPerGallon":4.162,"whiteBreadPerPound":1.851,"homeDinnerForFour":17,"takeoutDinnerForFour":51.7,"homeVsTakeoutSpread":34.7,"takeoutToHomeRatio":3.04},{"monthLabel":"August 2025","shortLabel":"Aug 25","foodAtHomeIndex":314.608,"foodAwayFromHomeIndex":384.909,"eggsPerDozen":3.587,"groundBeefPerPound":6.318,"chickenBreastPerPound":4.212,"milkPerGallon":4.171,"whiteBreadPerPound":1.841,"homeDinnerForFour":17.1,"takeoutDinnerForFour":51.8,"homeVsTakeoutSpread":34.7,"takeoutToHomeRatio":3.03},{"monthLabel":"September 2025","shortLabel":"Sep 25","foodAtHomeIndex":316.042,"foodAwayFromHomeIndex":385.451,"eggsPerDozen":3.488,"groundBeefPerPound":6.323,"chickenBreastPerPound":4.172,"milkPerGallon":4.129,"whiteBreadPerPound":1.867,"homeDinnerForFour":17.1,"takeoutDinnerForFour":51.9,"homeVsTakeoutSpread":34.8,"takeoutToHomeRatio":3.04},{"monthLabel":"November 2025","shortLabel":"Nov 25","foodAtHomeIndex":313.954,"foodAwayFromHomeIndex":387.202,"eggsPerDozen":2.86,"groundBeefPerPound":6.54,"chickenBreastPerPound":4.15,"milkPerGallon":3.997,"whiteBreadPerPound":1.79,"homeDinnerForFour":17,"takeoutDinnerForFour":52.1,"homeVsTakeoutSpread":35.1,"takeoutToHomeRatio":3.06},{"monthLabel":"December 2025","shortLabel":"Dec 25","foodAtHomeIndex":315.664,"foodAwayFromHomeIndex":389.889,"eggsPerDozen":2.712,"groundBeefPerPound":6.687,"chickenBreastPerPound":4.153,"milkPerGallon":4.047,"whiteBreadPerPound":1.833,"homeDinnerForFour":17.1,"takeoutDinnerForFour":52.5,"homeVsTakeoutSpread":35.4,"takeoutToHomeRatio":3.07},{"monthLabel":"January 2026","shortLabel":"Jan 26","foodAtHomeIndex":317.431,"foodAwayFromHomeIndex":390.471,"eggsPerDozen":2.577,"groundBeefPerPound":6.752,"chickenBreastPerPound":4.165,"milkPerGallon":4.1,"whiteBreadPerPound":1.843,"homeDinnerForFour":17.2,"takeoutDinnerForFour":52.6,"homeVsTakeoutSpread":35.4,"takeoutToHomeRatio":3.06},{"monthLabel":"February 2026","shortLabel":"Feb 26","foodAtHomeIndex":318.898,"foodAwayFromHomeIndex":391.706,"eggsPerDozen":2.5,"groundBeefPerPound":6.739,"chickenBreastPerPound":4.142,"milkPerGallon":4.026,"whiteBreadPerPound":1.85,"homeDinnerForFour":17.3,"takeoutDinnerForFour":52.8,"homeVsTakeoutSpread":35.5,"takeoutToHomeRatio":3.05},{"monthLabel":"March 2026","shortLabel":"Mar 26","foodAtHomeIndex":318.755,"foodAwayFromHomeIndex":392.652,"eggsPerDozen":2.348,"groundBeefPerPound":6.701,"chickenBreastPerPound":4.172,"milkPerGallon":4.067,"whiteBreadPerPound":1.808,"homeDinnerForFour":17.3,"takeoutDinnerForFour":52.9,"homeVsTakeoutSpread":35.6,"takeoutToHomeRatio":3.06},{"monthLabel":"April 2026","shortLabel":"Apr 26","foodAtHomeIndex":320.859,"foodAwayFromHomeIndex":393.546,"eggsPerDozen":2.25,"groundBeefPerPound":6.899,"chickenBreastPerPound":4.168,"milkPerGallon":4.136,"whiteBreadPerPound":1.869,"homeDinnerForFour":17.4,"takeoutDinnerForFour":53,"homeVsTakeoutSpread":35.6,"takeoutToHomeRatio":3.05}],"summary":{"latestUpdateLabel":"May 2026","officialDataThrough":"Latest BLS food price data available as of May 21, 2026: April 2026","plannedHomeDinnerForFour":17.4,"casualTakeoutDinnerForFour":53,"homeVsTakeoutSpread":35.6,"takeoutToHomeRatio":3.05,"foodAtHomeChangeFromJanuary":1.1},"latestTakeaways":["In May 2026, the latest available official data showed the broad grocery basket higher than January, restaurant meals still climbing, eggs easing, and ground beef still expensive. The practical takeaway is to plan one low-lift backup dinner and one beef-stretching meal before either turns into takeout.","Do not build the whole budget around one improving staple.","Make the default weeknight backup cheaper than takeout and easier than starting from zero.","Use the grocery list to connect ingredients across meals before prices punish duplicates and waste."],"downloads":{"csv":"/grocery-price-index/data.csv","json":"/grocery-price-index/data.json"}}