Grocery stores in Utah fighting to keep costs down

North Salt Lake, Utah — Utahns like Whitney Sinclair are already feeling the war in Ukraine’s impact on their wallets. “It‘s unfortunate and scary and sad,” she said. “I go grocery shopping every three weeks, and I have noticed a huge change in how much my receipt is.”

Grocery stores, like Neighbors Market in North Salt Lake, have been dealing with inflation long before the war began. “The toughest thing is trying to stay on top,” said store manager Dennis Lawrence. “We can’t tag the shelves fast enough. The supermarkets are really running.”

According to Lawrence, the biggest thing Lawrence is facing right now is a supply shortage due to people frantically stocking up. “There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to buy more than you normally consume,” he said.

There’s only so much that manager Igor Garcia can do to keep up, even with the National Product Sales store’s huge warehouse. “We do get concerned,” he said. “And we all have felt in our pockets because prices are going up everywhere.”

According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas in Utah was $4.351 on Friday.

NPS is going to do its best to keep the cost of its food products low, even if that means eating profits, said Garcia.

“Our freight prices have gone up,” he said. “We have adjusted the salary to our employees. The owners are very aware of this, but they are very committed to maintaining the low prices for our customers.”