While food prices are expected to increase at a slower rate than the 20 year national average in 2025, rising food prices in the past few years have increased food insecurity in Orange County.
New data from the United States Department of Agriculture predicts food prices in 2025 to increase by 2.2 percent. But in Orange County, high grocery costs are already impacting the community.
According to data from Feeding America, Orange County had a 12.3 percent food insecurity rate in 2022, with an average cost of $4.90 per meal. Households experiencing food insecurity for at least seven months per year reported a total budget shortfall of $16,577,000.
“That's the amount that households reported they would have needed in order to purchase ‘just enough’ food to satisfy their needs,” Triangle Double Bucks Coordinator Hadassah Patterson said in an email.
The Triangle Double Bucks Program doubles the buying power of SNAP/EBT and WIC recipients, which makes fresh food at farmer’s markets accessible, Patterson said.
“This means that the buying power of communities of color should be more than double in order to empower equity at mealtimes," she said.
Patterson said the food insecurity rate among Black residents in Orange County increased from 21 percent in 2021 to 24 percent in 2022. Meanwhile, Latin residents experienced a food insecurity rate of 19 percent during the same period, she said. For respondents selecting "White, Non-Hispanic," the rate is only 10 percent in Orange County.
Lindsey Smith Taillie, associate professor at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, said there are many federal subsidies on common ingredients in ultra-processed foods like corn, soy and wheat, making the products more accessible for consumers and cheaper overall.
However, Taillie said things like fresh produce and high quality meat that line the sides of many grocery stores are more expensive — similar to the rest of North Carolina and even the entire country.