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Ingredients For This Meal Have Never Been More Expensive at the Grocery Store

Of the three square meals, this one is starting to add up on the receipt.

Grocery prices have been climbing for months now thanks to a perfect storm of supply chain issues, inflation, and environmental factors. For those picking up daily items at their neighborhood store, the ingredients for the "most important meal of the day" are going to require bringing home a lot more bacon, figuratively speaking.

Breakfast items like eggs, citrus fruits, bacon, milk, roasted coffee, and margarine have sky-rocketed in price over the last year. 

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In particular, egg prices have surged in the past month. A carton of a dozen that can be used to make your favorite omelets, frittatas, and a ton of other egg varieties rose 23% between March and April to just over $2.50, according to Bloomberg. In addition, between April of 2021 and last month, milk has gone up by 14.7%, roasted coffee by 14.7%, bacon by 17.7%,  citrus fruits by 18.6%, and butter and margarine by a whopping 19.2%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

milk and eggs at the grocery store
elena_prosvirova / Shutterstock

The pandemic has played a role in grocery inflation, which has slowed production and caused worker shortages. A massive bird flu outbreak has contributed to the cost of eggs, which has devastated hens by the millions in the Midwest. Additionally, weather-related incidents like drought have affected crops, particularly in Texas and California. Altogether, these incidents spell bad news for the bottom line of the grocery receipt.

And as one final breakfast woe, those that enjoy their morning avocado toast just recently started seeing historically high prices for their beloved fruit.

Recently, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott required "enhanced safety inspections" of commercial vehicles entering Texas, which caused avocado shipments to be delayed. Consequently, a major spike in price resulted – which has almost doubled the price for a carton of 48 Hass avocados, going from $40 to $78.75, according to CNN.

Thinking about whether or not you should skip breakfast altogether? In that case, check out: 7 Worst Bacons to Stay Away From Right Now.

Amber Lake
Amber Lake is a staff writer at Eat This, Not That! and has a degree in journalism from UNF in Jacksonville, Florida. Read more about Amber