Are grocery prices actually going down in 2026?

No — grocery prices are not broadly going down in 2026. The best current read is that prices are still rising, though not necessarily at the extreme pace shoppers saw during the worst inflation years.

As of April 2026, overall food prices were 3.2% higher than in April 2025, and the all-food CPI rose 0.5% from March to April. That means the average grocery/food bill is still moving upward, not falling.

Some individual items may get cheaper because of sales, seasonality, or supply changes, but the overall trend does not point to a major reset in grocery prices. Fresh produce looks especially pressured: fresh vegetable prices are forecast to rise sharply in 2026, and fresh fruit prices are also expected to climb.