Food Costs

Average wholesale food prices reaccelerated in recent months, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Producer Price Index for All Foods – which represents the change in average prices paid to domestic producers for their output – rose 0.4% between April and May. That represented the third increase in the last four months, with the food price index rising nearly 3% during that span.

The most recent growth in the food price index was fueled by sharp gains in prices for dairy products, fresh fruits and vegetables, and fats and oils.

Although growth in the food price index quickened in recent months, it was only up 0.1% on a 12-month basis. That was primarily due to elevated comparisons in early 2025, when prices surged nearly 10%. Now that those months have been lapped, there will likely be stronger year-over-year gains in the food price index.

With growth reaccelerating in recent months, wholesale food prices continued to rise further above their pre-pandemic levels. As of May 2026, the Producer Price Index for All Foods stood 35% above its February 2020 reading. 

While the overall food price index was essentially unchanged on a 12-month basis, many individual commodities saw much larger price swings.

Producer prices for fresh vegetables (123.2%), fats and oils (25.8%), beef and veal (15.9%), coffee (8.8%), unprocessed finfish (6.0%), soft drinks (5.4%), milk (4.2%), wheat flour (4.0%) and fresh fruit (3.9%) stood well above their May 2025 levels.

In contrast, the price indices for eggs (-86.5%), butter (-30.0%), confectionary materials (-16.9%), pork (-12.3%), refined sugar (-11.0%), milled rice (-6.0%), processed poultry (-4.6%) and cheese (-2.9%) declined from their year-ago levels.

With the direction of food costs diverging across commodities, the degree to which restaurants are experiencing pricing relief depends on the menu mix of each individual operation.