ALDI

Feb. 15. You’ve probably felt the news first-hand about prices having gone up at their fastest rate in nearly 30 years.

Soaring food costs are part of what’s driving inflation, experts say.

No surprise, prices at local grocery chains  went up in a comparison of costs at the end of 2020 and last month.

The same items at:

• Aldi cost $24.17 in 2020 vs. $29.94 this year (up 24 percent);

• Food Lion, $40.14 vs. 44.94 (up 12 percent);

• Harris Teeter, $44.86 vs. $48.16 (up 7 percent);

• Publix, $43.71 vs. $46.73  (up 7 percent);

• The Fresh Market, $49.17 vs. $56.76  (up 15 percent).

Prices in 2020 were gathered Nov. 20-21, and did not reflect sales or special offers/promotions.

For comparison, prices were gathered Jan. 22 this year. Again, prices do not reflect sales or special offers/promotions. Alternatives to brand names were store brands where available. Click here for the price comparison.

Some stores had empty spots on their shelves; employees attributed low or no supplies of produce, milk, cream cheese, cereal and other perishables to not getting deliveries and recent storm shopping sprees.

This year, we eliminated hand sanitizer and adjusted 2020 totals to reflect the same.

Americans are struggling with the highest inflation in 40 years, as the U.S. consumer price index went up 7 percent in December from a year earlier. Gas prices alone are up $1 a gallon between the start and the end of 2021, according to the US Energy Information Administration.