Since March 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of eggs has jumped 35 percent. A gallon of milk is up 23 percent. A loaf of white bread has climbed 16 percent. And a pound of ground chuck is up 8 percent.
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The crunch for American shoppers pales compared with the challenges faced by those in the developing world. Americans spend just 9.9 percent of household income on food, according to the Agriculture Department. Compare that with poor countries such as Ethiopia and Bangladesh, where it’s not uncommon for families to spend 70 percent.

The index for energy, which rose 17.4 percent in 2007, advanced at a 8.6 percent SAAR in the first quarter of 2008. Petroleum-based energy costs increased at a 5.6 percent annual rate and charges for energy services rose at a 12.8 percent annual rate. The food index rose at a 5.3 percent SAAR in the first quarter of 2008, following a 4.9 percent increase in all of 2007. The index for grocery store food prices increased at a 5.9 percent annual rate