People shop at a Lidl Supermarket on May 11, 2026 in the Crown Heights neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough in New York City. Due to the rise in food insecurity from the COVID-19 pandemic along with rising inflation, tariffs and corporate cost-cutting measures, people are relying more on budget grocery stores and warehouse clubs instead of traditional supermarkets.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
By now, you’ve probably felt it: prices are up.
The spike in gas prices have helped push annual inflation to its highest levels in three years — around 4.2 percent.
With prices creeping up, how are Americans coping?
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NPR’s Scott Horsley contributed reporting to this episode.
It was produced by Kai McNamee and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane and Zo van Ginhoven. Our director is Jonas Adams.
It was edited by Tinbete Ermyas.
Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning.