By Nikki Courtney
Covid caused a lot of disruptions to the food industry.
Restaurant closings meant food-at-home and food-out of home year-to-year figures lost all relationship with one another as almost all food suppliers suddenly had to shift their products for retail distribution just as unreasonable hoarding affected supply chains and meat-processing plants closed due to a lack of social distancing just before restaurants started coming back to life and needed food.
The consumer price index reports food prices in the US were up 5.9% June 2019 to June 2020, reflecting the early disruptions that have since ironed themselves out.Food industry analyst Bob Goldin with Pentallect says the business has been remarkably resilient, and with a .4% increase in December after a .3% decrease in November seem to be humming along efficiently. “But now things seem to be stabilized and we’re on a low cost inflation.”