U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) met with state leaders in New Haven to push federal and state initiatives to address rising grocery prices.
DeLauro said these initiatives are aimed at lowering food prices to make everyday necessities more affordable. She spoke outside of Nica’s Market about the burden high food prices have brought on families and small businesses. She said she plans to look into large corporations that dominate food and grocery markets.
“For those corporations who are shamelessly extracting every last penny from exhausted Americans who have no other choice. I think that the federal government must hold them accountable,” DeLauro said.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Deputy Commissioner Shirley Skyers-Thomas and Connecticut Food Association President Wayne Pesce also spoke.
According to the Consumer Price Index, food prices have risen more than 25% over the last four years. A March federal trade report indicated that some grocery retailers use rising costs from the pandemic as an opportunity to raise prices and increase profits.
Tong will investigate price gouging at supermarkets in the state. Tong said residents have reached out to his office to look into issues like high prices and “Shrinkflation.”
“They want us to take a hard look at these prices. They want to understand what’s happening to the price of eggs that’s really shot up. So it’s our responsibility, it’s our obligation to take a hard look at it,” Tong said.
DeLauro said she will fight corporate mergers and special interest groups that are a major factor in creating the price hike of groceries. She will support initiatives to ensure enough funding for the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to review corporate mergers.
“They’ll claim that the high costs are due to labor and transportation, but that's not quite true. The facts and their own words are against them,” DeLauro said.
