FTC pushes to investigate major grocery stores as Middle Tennesseans struggle with high prices

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is pushing for an investigation into major grocery store chains to see if companies are inflating prices.

As prices remain sky-high, those in Middle Tennessee have felt the impact. One FTC study reportedly showed that food prices rose by 11 percent between 2021 and 2022 while profits for retailers increased by more than six percent.

“You can’t afford it,” Donelson grocery store shopper Susan Ackert said. “You either pay your bills or you eat.”

From milk to meat and everything in between, grocery prices have been high. News 2 spoke with several Middle Tennesseans who said that they’ve felt the squeeze on their wallets.

“You can go and get two or three things and it’d be $100,” Nashville resident Jenny Garrigan said.

This new probe by the FTC could force major grocery chains to provide information about their costs and prices of common products. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statics showed that on average, the price of milk went from $3.35 in March 2021 to $3.96 a gallon in June 2024. For ground beef, the price rose from $4.38 to $5.36 per pound in that same time period.

Some people, like shopper Seth Steed, said that those high prices could be hard to manage.

“We have a toddler and our groceries have gone from maybe $100 a week to double, if not more, on a weekly basis,” Steed said. “I think for younger people in the younger generations — mid-to-early twenties — it’s just a lot harder to raise a family now because of grocery prices.”

According to a June report from Joint Economic Committee Republicans, the average household in the volunteer state has spent $3,610 more on food due to inflation since January 2021. That comes out to around $147 monthly.

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Many shoppers have said that the answers to their questions about high checkout prices are long overdue.

“I want to see something happen. I want this to stop,” Ackert said. “I mean, my husband’s working overtime so we can eat.”

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