Increasing PricesDenver King Sooper shopper Amanda Vogel was shocked to learn that price of her most common grocery items had risen since the last time she went grocery shopping. According to her, the two pounds natural cheese she normally buys went up by dollar one to $7.99 from $6.99, and one gallon of milk now costs $2.49, which was earlier sold at $1.99. Amanda has a family of five and said she will now possibly resort to decreasing the amount of cheese on her menus and giving her kids only two glasses of milk everyday.

Other residents at the metro area are also experiencing the higher prices of food, not only in grocery stores but also at restaurants. Jeff Thredgold, an economist of Vectra Bank in Colorado, said that the reason for this price increase is the increasing demand for goods worldwide, accompanied by the continuing increase of gas prices brought about by the current conflicts in the countries of the Middle East.

Denver households are not the only ones being affected by the rising prices of food commodities. Restaurants, such as Ernie’s Bar and Pizza, are being hit hard with this food inflation. At Ernie’s, since pizza is their main specialty, it is getting increasingly difficult for the management to hold the line for their costumers, as prices of flour and diary are also on the rise.

The Department of Agriculture has advised that prices of food either at grocery stores or at restaurants will continue to increase by three or four percent this year.