US Food at Home Consumer Price Index
US Food at Home Consumer Price Index stood at 321.11 in Sep 2026, according to FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis). It is one of the indicators in the CPI table (Value · Monthly), with a complete series running from Jan 1952 to Sep 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the CPI table
| Indicator | 09-2026 | 08-2026 | 07-2026 | 06-2026 | 05-2026 | 04-2026 | 03-2026 | 02-2026 | 01-2026 | 12-2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food at home6 | 321.11 | 321.34 | 321.22 | 321.45 | 320.84 | 320.63 | 318.46 | 318.99 | 317.59 | 316.98 | |
| Cereals and bakery products | 369.12 | 368.84 | 368.67 | 368 | 366.9 | 365.56 | 365.16 | 367.31 | 367.94 | 363.72 | |
| Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs | 348.33 | 349.99 | 349.6 | 351.9 | 349.72 | 350.25 | 345.89 | 348.09 | 348.21 | 347.43 |
Understanding US Food at Home Consumer Price Index
The food at home Consumer Price Index (CPI) tracks prices of food items that households purchase to bring back, store, or prepare at their residences. The scope generally ranges from cereals, meat, fish, eggs, and dairy to fruits and vegetables alongside various other foods, but excludes service costs of meals away from home. This is the core distinction from the broader food price index; it also serves as an aggregate level for branches such as cereals, meat, and dairy within the same table.
This series is sensitive to agricultural seasonality, weather, livestock diseases, transportation costs, and point-of-sale promotional programs. Consequently, year-on-year comparisons are generally easier to interpret when assessing trends, whereas month-on-month changes are suited for detecting new supply shocks though they can be quite noisy. Holidays alter shopping structures and discount levels, rendering any single period unrepresentative. The index is aggregated based on expenditure weights, meaning it is not a simple arithmetic average of sub-groups. Item samples, retail outlets, and weights may be updated over time.
Frequently asked questions
- Does food at home include restaurant delivery meals?
- Do not assume so; classification depends on the nature of the transaction, while the index primarily targets food purchased for consumption at the place of residence.
- Why does this index fluctuate significantly on a monthly basis?
- Many commodities are subject to seasonality, weather, biological supply conditions, and retail promotions.
- Can sub-groups be averaged to obtain the general index?
- No. Each group is aggregated according to different expenditure weights.