That’s the question a recent episode of The Daily from The New York Times explores. It follows Tyler Kulp, general manager of NCBA member East End Food Co-op in Pittsburgh, as he walks listeners through the economics behind today’s grocery prices.
Rather than pointing to a single culprit, the episode reveals the complex web of production costs, transportation, labor and supply chain pressures that shape the price of food long before it reaches the checkout lane.
For cooperatives, however, the story goes one step further. Food co-ops have long embraced a level of transparency that traditional grocery stores rarely offer. Because they’re owned by the people who shop there, co-ops regularly share how pricing decisions are made, why margins matter and how every dollar supports fair wages, local producers and a resilient food system—not distant shareholders.
In uncertain economic times, that openness helps build something just as valuable as affordable food: trust.
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