Most U.S. adults stressed by grocery costs: poll
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More than half of Americans are stressed about buying groceries — significantly more than the financial pressure they feel about credit card debt, child care or student debt, an AP-NORC poll out Monday found.
The big picture: President Trump campaigned on a promise to bring down grocery prices, but the data shows Americans are still stressed out about affording these basic necessities.
- 53% of Americans said the cost of groceries was a major source of stress right now, while 33% said it was a minor source of stress.
- Just 14% said the price of groceries was not a source of stress.
- The next-highest sources of major stress were the cost of housing (47%), the amount of money saved or earned (43%) and the cost of health care (42%).
The intrigue: 14% of adults in the poll also reported using Buy Now, Pay Later services on groceries, so they could make the immediate purchases and pay for them in installments.
- 11% said they had used such services, like Afterpay or Klarna, to purchase restaurant meals or meal delivery.
- 17% said they had used BNPL services for medical or dental care, while 14% had used it for entertainment costs.
Between the lines: Food banks have braced for a surge in need triggered by federal food assistance changes signed into law by Trump, with leaders in the hunger relief network warning the gap may be impossible to fill.
Context: In June, food prices were up 3% compared to the prior year, according to a Consumer Price Index report released last month.
- The price of food has soared in recent years compared to pre-pandemic data. Driving factors have included supply chain disruptions, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the avian influenza outbreak, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
- Climate change has also contributed to decreased predictability in food costs, Axios' Josephine Walker reports.
What they're saying: Like his first term, "President Trump is implementing the very same policy mix of deregulation, fairer trade, and pro-growth tax cuts at an even bigger scale – as these policies take effect, the best is yet to come," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement.
Go deeper: Prices will rise, Bessent says, as tariff pressure grows
Methodology: The nationwide poll was conducted July 10-14, 2025. Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,437 adults. The overall margin of sampling error is +/- 3.6 percentage points.
Editor's note: This story was updated with comment from the White House.
