Chicago grocery runs are turning into gut checks as prices on everyday staples from coffee to diapers have jumped over the past year. A months‑long review of 35 common items at four major retailers found many big‑name products rising by double‑digit percentages, stretching food budgets and pushing shoppers to chase deals. Families, food pantries, and neighborhood groups say the squeeze at the register has become especially hard to ignore this winter.
Reporters at the Chicago Sun‑Times tracked shelf and sale prices on the first Tuesday of each month at a North Side Jewel‑Osco, while checking the same items online for Mariano’s, Target, and Walmart using matching store locations. Their sample basket at Jewel rose from $263.15 on Jan. 7, 2025, to $284.95 on Feb. 3, 2026. At Jewel, 18 items increased in price, 15 stayed the same, and two went down, while Walmart showed more items dropping than rising. That sort of targeted SKU tracking can spotlight sharp jumps on specific products even when broader inflation gauges look much tamer.
Which items spiked the most
In the Sun‑Times' tally, Folgers ground coffee, Nathan’s bun‑length hot dogs, ground beef, a jumbo bag of M&M’s, and a 12‑pack of Coke were among the biggest climbers, with some stores posting increases north of 25 percent. Folgers, for instance, climbed to $8.99 at Jewel and Mariano’s (about a 38.5% hike), and an 18‑ounce bag of peanut M&M’s reached $13.99 at Jewel (roughly a 27% increase), according to the paper. “Price increases that slammed consumers beginning in mid‑2022 are mostly not going away,” supermarket analyst Phil Lempert told the Chicago Sun‑Times.
How does national data compare
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the "food at home" index rose about 2.4 percent over the 12 months ending in December 2025, a much smaller average move than what some individual brands are posting. CPI figures blend a wide array of products and weight them differently, so zeroing in on particular brands can reveal much sharper swings for categories like coffee and beef. That gap helps explain why shoppers feel prices are rising even when headline inflation seems relatively tame.
Shrinkflation and local relief
On top of sticker shock, shoppers are battling "shrinkflation," where package sizes quietly shrink while prices stay put. Nationwide price checks have flagged Tide detergent bottles as one recent example. NPR’s annual shopping review, republished by WGBH, found Tide containers getting smaller even as labels promised the same number of loads, and Procter & Gamble told reporters the formula was redesigned to be more concentrated. Some local efforts are trying to ease the pain. A South Side distribution in March 2025, organized by a pastor, handed out 40,000 eggs to families, according to the 40,000‑egg giveaway.
What shoppers can do
For Chicagoans looking to fight back, the tools are unglamorous but effective: scrutinize unit prices, compare store brands and time nonperishable buys around familiar sale cycles. Stocking up when staples are genuinely discounted, stacking loyalty deals and focusing on per‑ounce costs can soften the blow of big brand jumps. Jotting down the SKU and price when you spot a major change also helps neighborhood price trackers and makes it easier to hunt down real bargains the next time you roll a cart down the aisle.
