What’s going on with fast food? Why have prices skyrocketed

DAYTON — Fast food is typically known as a cheap option for eating out, but in the past 10 years, menu prices have doubled.

News Center 7′s Taylor Robertson looked at how high those prices have climbed and how we as consumers have reacted.

Fewer and fewer people are stopping by drive-throughs for a quick bite to eat because they are starting to catch on that fast food prices are not as cheap as they used to be.

Ruby Mahoney is a junior at the University of Dayton and saving money to go to law school. “Our roommate gets Mcdonald’s cakes every day and she was saying inflation made it go up. She was mad,” Mahoney said.

She continued by saying, “I try to eat at home but doesn’t always work out that way.”

Only grabbing fast food maybe once a week to save time and cash. To hear that many of the fast-food restaurants are increasing their prices.

“It’s definitely annoying,” Mahoney said. And she isn’t alone in that.

Datassential recently did a survey that shows 46% of consumers have cut their spending on eating out. The report goes on to say that 31% of people in the survey said they cook at home to save money. Meanwhile, 75% of the people said it was because of inflation and the rising cost of living.

A study done by Finance Buzz found that within the last 10 years, average menu prices have risen between 39% to 100%. All higher than the rate of inflation, which according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics is 31%.

If you stop by the Starbucks on Brown Street and grab a coffee and breakfast sandwich, you’ll be spending more than $10. And, if you go to Chik-Fil-A for lunch on Stroop Road in Kettering, you can grab a combo meal for almost $10.

Then, if you stop by Wendy’s to grab dinner for yourself and two kids, you each get a meal and a Frosty, you could spend nearly $50.

Riley Dugan is the Marketing Department Head at the University of Dayton. He said, “People are angry, rightly so.”

In the 2023 sales report, McDonald’s reported a slowdown in sales growth in the U.S. during its fourth-quarter earnings. Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut were in a similar boat.

Dugan said this does not come as a surprise.

“People you know, talk with their wallets and then with the money they spend and where they spend, that’s what gives people a voice, right?”

You may have noticed some restaurants offer deals to keep you spending with them. Wendy’s with the 4 For 4 Deal, KFC with the $10 Family Meal, or the $3 and under menu at Taco Bell.

“The more competition you have, the better that is for us customers because that drives prices down,” Dugan said.

He continued by saying, as a fast-food consumer, myself, he recognizes why people are frustrated.

“Oftentimes people who struggle with these prices the most are the people who are most busy who might be working two jobs, just to make ends meet,” Dugan said.

According to Dugan, as a country, many of us don’t realize that we’re letting around 40% of the food in our fridge go bad. Making sure you eat the groceries you buy is the first step in saving money on food, and taking advantage of rewards programs where you collect points as you buy.

©2024 Cox Media Group