It’s no secret that food costs have been on the rise. Particularly last month, food prices had the steepest increase in price in three years from November 2025 to December 2025. According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s living wage calculator, the average food cost for a family in Reno consisting of two working adults with two children is currently $13,781 per year.
In 2026, food prices are still expected to increase, but at a slower pace than the historical average. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts that all food prices will increase by 2.7% while food-at-home prices increase by 2.3%.
The increased need to budget at the grocery store could be the reason that savings-first retailers like Walmart are leading the trend of what shoppers are looking for, according to Dunnhumby, a data research and retail consultant company…