Food prices: a mixed picture
You’re getting mixed signals: DoorDash data shows grocery categories like eggs are down year‑over‑year, but restaurant menu prices remain elevated — up about 3.8% from a year ago. ( )
Eggs got cheaper, but your takeout burger probably didn’t. DoorDash’s new local-commerce data says its “Breakfast Basics Index” fell 22.3% from a year earlier, mostly because egg prices dropped, while restaurant prices kept climbing instead of falling back. (supermarketnews.com) That split shows up inside DoorDash’s own baskets. The company says household-goods prices were basically flat, down 0.3% year over year, but its restaurant “Cheeseburger Index” still showed menu inflation slowing rather than reversing. (publicnow.com) Restaurants are still running hotter than the rest of inflation. Nation’s Restaurant News reported menu prices were up 3.8% from March 2025, compared with a 3.3% annual rise in the Consumer Price Index, the government’s broad inflation gauge. (nrn.com, cnbc.com) Even March’s monthly numbers tell the same story. Menu prices rose 0.2% in March, while full-service restaurant prices rose 0.3% for the second straight month and limited-service prices rose 0.2%, which means restaurants are still adding a little more to the bill almost every month. (nrn.com) The reason grocery shelves and restaurant menus move differently is simple: a carton of eggs is mostly one commodity, but a restaurant meal is food plus wages, rent, utilities, delivery fees, and fuel. When one input gets cheaper, restaurants still have four or five others moving the wrong way. (nrn.com, publicnow.com) March made that cost stack harder, not easier. The Consumer Price Index jumped 0.9% in March, the biggest monthly increase in nearly four years, and CNBC said energy prices alone surged 10.9% in the month. (cnbc.com, nytimes.com) Reuters reported the March spike was driven largely by gasoline and diesel after the Iran war pushed up oil prices, and fuel hits restaurants twice: first in deliveries from suppliers, then again in what drivers and customers pay to move food across town. (yahoo.com, cnbc.com) DoorDash’s city data shows why people feel this so unevenly. Henderson, Nevada, saw restaurant prices rise 1.7% over the past year, while the same national trend can look much harsher in places where labor, freight, and rent are higher. (lasvegassun.com, wfmd.com) The result is why inflation feels confusing at the checkout line. Breakfast at home can get noticeably cheaper when eggs fall 22.3%, but dinner out can still feel expensive when menu prices are rising 3.8% a year and fuel just posted its sharpest shock in years. (supermarketnews.com, nrn.com, cnbc.com)
