Inflation impacts students
May 10, 2022
Being a college student is tough. Between the piles of schoolwork, maintaining a job, and having a social life, the last thing we need to worry about is money. In recent years, inflation in America has been rising rapidly.
Say something in 2019 costs a single dollar, well in 2022 that same product costs $1.12. That would be a 12.5 percent inflation in just three short years. For college students that means food, clothes, and simple everyday products are getting more and more expensive.
For me, this means my beloved Jersey Mikes’s sandwich meal which cost me $7.99 during my high school days now costs me $10.99. This is a $3.00 increase in just a few years. According to Fortune.com, “food inflation saw its largest annual increase in March since 1981— rising at 8.8% year over year.”
This is the worst annual year for inflation in 30 years and we are all feeling the impact. For college students, this means their favorite meal is almost 10 percent more expensive this year alone.
Inflation is soaring for everything, not just food. Gasoline, housing, and other everyday necessities are becoming increasingly more expensive. These rising inflation rates are not going away anytime soon.
Even if students do not notice the price of their food getting higher, they may notice the potions becoming smaller. A Businessinsider article wrote, “Domino’s is adopting this strategy by downsizing its $7.99 wing deal from 10 pieces to eight pieces”.
This is another tactic used by companies to combat inflation and to keep their revenue margins high. Businessinsider also wrote that, “Denny’s is reducing promotions of low-priced menu items, and has stopped advertising its value menu of items starting at $2.00,” said CEO John Miller.
These examples are just a few ways that rising costs and inflation are reshaping fast food and the food industry. Corporate is forcing chains to cut portion sizes, eliminate deals, and hide the value menu amid the rising inflation in America.
“Gas is the highest it has been since before Covid,” said Oakton student John Dolan. “It’s definitely noticeable that everything is getting more expensive.”
