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American families are increasingly pushed beyond their financial limits at the grocery counter, turning to credit card debt just to put food on the table, according to a new study.
Data released Monday from the Urban Institute found that a 32% increase in food costs over the past five years has forced more than one in four Americans into working credit card debt just to pay their grocery bills.
“Food items are one of the biggest items used by households. In the last five years, the cost of food has increased significantly,” the report said. “This means that families today face persistently high prices when they go to the grocery store, and food availability remains a concern for many.”
The report also found, “Between 2023 and 2025, the share of working-age adults who paid for groceries with a credit card and did not increase the minimum payment, indicating growing financial stress among families.”
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While the recent release at the gas pump has provided temporary inflation relief, a variety of corporate supply chains and ongoing global trade and country shocks are expected. to keep prices high for the foreseeable future, The Conference Board's Chief Scientist Dana M. Peterson recently told Fox News Digital. He predicted that Americans every day will continue to feel the pressure in the store, the goal of the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation remains unattainable until at least 2028.
Customers check out at a Whole Foods supermarket in Manhattan on May 13, 2025, in New York City. (Getty Images)
Although the June consumer price index (CPI) inflation data will be released this Tuesday, April personal consumption expenses (PCE) index rose 0.4% on a monthly basis and is up 3.8% from last year.
The Urban Institute's findings underscore current price pressures, noting 63.2% of Americans ages 18-64 charged their grocery purchases to credit cards last year. More than a quarter of those people then experience payment problems.
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Additionally, the share of people who failed to make the minimum payment on credit cards used for grocery purchases increased from 7.1% in 2023 to 8.7% in 2025.
“Buy now, pay later” installment plans were used by 8.9% of adults to get food, but more than one-third (34.8%) of those users failed to pay the installment on time.
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The Conference Board's Chief Economist Dana M. Peterson talks to Fox News Digital about declining CEO confidence and his long-term view of inflation.
Those hit hardest by food costs are middle-income earners, the data shows, with middle-class families earning between 200% and 400% of the federal poverty level seeing their credit card payments on food jump from 9.3% in 2023 to 12.3% in 2025.
The Urban Institute wrote: “While access to debt and savings can provide struggling families to meet basic needs, over-reliance on these strategies can lead to financial instability if they have difficulty meeting debt or do not recover financially after reducing savings.”
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