Food Price Inflation: 342.2 in Jan 2026
The food cpi moved to 342.2 in Jan 2026, up 0.63 from 341.6 in Dec 2025. Year-over-year, the reading is up 10.54 from 331.6.
Food CPI - Historical Chart
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food and Beverages in U.S. City Average. Gray shaded areas indicate U.S. recessions.
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), Series CPIFABSL. Shaded areas = NBER recession dates. Updated 2026-03-10.
What the Jan 2026 Data Shows
At 342.2, the food cpi in Jan 2026 is above the 10-year average of 284.1 by 58.11. The metric has risen in each of the last 6 months.
The food and beverage CPI (FRED series CPIFABSL) tracks price changes for food at home (groceries), food away from home (restaurants and takeout), and beverages. Food accounts for roughly 13% of the overall CPI basket, making it one of the most impactful components for household budgets.
Food prices surged in 2021-2022 due to supply chain disruptions, avian flu (egg prices), drought conditions, and elevated energy costs for transportation and refrigeration. While the pace of increase has slowed, food prices have not come down -- they are rising more slowly from a much higher base.
Monthly data from BLS, seasonally adjusted.
What This Metric Measures
This page tracks the Consumer Price Index for food and beverages, tracking price changes for groceries, restaurant meals, and non-alcoholic beverages purchased by urban consumers. The data comes from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED database, series CPIFABSL, updated monthly.
Historical Context
The all-time peak was 342.2 in Jan 2026. The all-time trough was 34.6 in May 1967. During COVID-19 in 2020, the reading hit 270.1 (Dec 2020). Year-over-year, the metric has moved 3.2%.
Why It Matters
For restaurant owners, food inflation is the input cost you cannot avoid. Food cost of goods sold typically runs 28-35% of revenue. A 10% increase in ingredient costs either comes out of your margin or gets passed to customers via menu price increases. At some point, customers push back and volume drops. Finding the right price point while covering rising food costs and debt service is the daily math problem for every restaurant operator.
What This Means for Business Owners
Understanding where this metric stands relative to historical norms helps business owners make better borrowing decisions. Metrics far from their 10-year average often signal turning points that affect the cost and availability of credit.
Food Price Inflation - Frequently Asked Questions
The food and beverage CPI index is 342.19 as of Jan 2026. Year-over-year food inflation has moderated from the 10%+ pace of 2022 but remains above the pre-pandemic trend. Grocery prices have risen cumulatively 25%+ since 2019.
Historically, eggs, dairy, and meat show the most volatility. Restaurant meal prices (food away from home) tend to be stickier -- they go up and rarely come down because labor costs (the biggest restaurant expense) are difficult to reduce.
Unlikely for most categories. Food price declines (deflation) are rare outside of specific commodity shocks. The more realistic scenario is that the pace of increase slows to 2-3% per year, but the cumulative price level remains elevated.
Food cost typically accounts for 28-35% of restaurant revenue. A 10% increase in food costs wipes out 3-4 percentage points of margin. Restaurants that cannot raise menu prices (due to competition or customer sensitivity) see profits evaporate.
Food-at-home (grocery) CPI is more volatile because it tracks commodity prices directly. Food-away-from-home (restaurant) CPI includes labor costs, rent, and other service components, making it stickier and slower to change.
FRED series CPIFABSL from the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI program. Monthly, seasonally adjusted. Based on price surveys at grocery stores, restaurants, and food service establishments across 75 urban areas.
Related Data & Guides
Data sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Updated monthly when new data is released.