Phoenicians reflect on inflation reaching 4.2% as gas, grocery prices surge

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Soaring gas prices fueled by the war with Iran have pushed inflation to its highest level in more than three years, with families feeling the impact at grocery stores and coffee shops.

Inflation climbed to 4.2% in May, according to the latest Labor Department report. But for many families, the overall number matters less than the prices they see on meat, produce and their morning cup of coffee.

“I feel like it’s always been feeling like it’s more than four at this point,” said Juli Purtzer. “I don’t know, just getting groceries, simple things is so expensive.”

Gas and food prices climb sharply

Gas prices jumped 50% compared with the beginning of the year. Consumers said they feel that pain every time they fill up their tank and their cart.

Tomato prices rose 32%. Lettuce is up nearly 25%. Beef prices went up 10% from a year ago. Coffee rose more than 17%.

“I have noticed actually like chicken and steak to have a little bit more bite to it, I guess you can say,” Marco Bravo said.

At coffee shops, owners are trying to make sure rising costs don’t translate to higher menu prices.

Families adjust spending habits

For customers already paying closer attention to every purchase, the rising costs are forcing difficult choices.

“I think we’re a little bit more selective about what we purchase at the grocery store,” Bravo said.

Some said it’s getting harder to tell whether buying food or going out to eat is a better option.

“I feel like now it’s easier to kind of just go out to eat instead of buying groceries because it’s just going to cost just the same,” Jessica Gavilanes said.

Another shopper, JD Harris, added, “We’re at a point where we can’t even figure out if it’s more expensive to stay home and eat or go out and eat for happy hour or things like that.”

Three out of four Americans now say their income isn’t keeping up with inflation. For many families, the prices they see most often are taking a bigger bite out of their household budgets.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2026 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.