The Friday Checkout is a weekly column providing more insight on the news, rounding up the announcements you may have missed and sharing what’s to come.
The federal government released its latest inflation report this week, but while the data indicate that overall grocery prices increased in November at a slower pace than they did just a few weeks before, the figures also show that already soaring meat prices continued to rise.
Meat prices rose last month at an 8.9% annual clip, up from 8.5% in September, the last month for which the inflation statistics are available. (Figures for October are not available because the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is responsible for tracking inflation, had to stop collecting data during the federal government shutdown.) Prices for beef and veal went up in November at an especially fast pace, with uncooked ground beef prices up by just under 15% and costs for uncooked beef roasts soaring more than 21%. Inflation for both of those categories was higher last month than in September.
On the other hand, prices for uncooked beef steaks — an especially important category because many shoppers turn to that cut of meat to bring some luxury into their diets — lost a bit of momentum in November. Prices for the meat were up 14.7% in November, down from almost 17% in September — still a searing pace.
Some food categories actually saw prices decline in November. For example, butter prices were off by 4.4% compared with their level during that month in 2024, while peanut butter costs shed nearly 5%. Both of those figures were lower last month than they were in September.
On balance, however, the inflation figures underscore a simple fact: Eating is still getting more expensive. Especially if you like meat.
In case you missed it
Kroger racking up legal woes?
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Monday that the grocery company has been sued more than 20 times since 2020 by managers claiming Kroger misclassifies them to avoid paying overtime.
Kroger recently settled a collective action lawsuit involving 2,500 current and former assistant store managers over the wage theft accusations. The grocer is still working to finalize settlements in a pair of other lawsuits, and other similar litigation is pending, the Enquirer reported.
Ahold Delhaize unveils tech and product development funding
W23 Global, the collaborative venture capital fund that includes Ahold Delhaize and several other grocery companies from around the world, has made investments in start-up companies Keychain and Topsort. The investment in Keychain aims to support tech designed to strengthen product development, while funds for Topsort will go toward improving retail media expansion.
Publix rolls out prescription savings finder
Publix Pharmacy on Wednesday launched a new prescription savings finder tool that aims to help customers save money on medications. The tool, called Discount Finder and powered by RxSense, is now available on the grocer’s pharmacy app and website.
Impulse find
Grocery Dive has a soft spot for wild animals in grocery stores, and often dedicates this portion of our weekly column to the non-human creatures wandering store aisles.
From furry, four-legged friends to reptiles, here are our favorite viral animals who found themselves inside grocery stores across the country in 2025.
Bronze - Bear in Fry’s
Second-runner-up in Grocery Dive’s first-ever (and hopefully annual) Animals-In-Grocery-Stores Olympics goes to the bear that ran around an Arizona Fry’s store in October.
It took this bear a few days to work up the courage to go inside, AP News reported this fall, and once it did make it through the magical automatic doors, the bear “just ran around,” a spokesperson for the local police station said. This carnivorous visitor stole no food and caused no damage to the location.
@nbcnews A #bear surprised shoppers as it ran through the aisles of a supermarket in #Arizona ♬ original sound - nbcnews
Silver - Highland Cow at Hy-Vee
The highland cow that wandered around a Hy-Vee parking lot back in September takes home silver, beating out its bronze competitor on behalf of the humor the grocery chain added to the incident.
When videos of the animal galloping around the grocery store parking lot went viral, Hy-Vee wasted no time, posting on Facebook: “Yes the rumors are TRUE… our beef is THAT good!! Even ask the highland cattle that came by to try some last night.”
@emilyschlarmann Haven’t even been home an hour #iowa #fyp ♬ Jet2 Advert - ✈️A7-BBH | MAN 🇬🇧
Gold - Coyote in Aldi
No animal-in-a-grocery-store video from 2025 packs the same punch or shock value as this coyote.
The fact that an animal of this size managed to cram itself between the shelves of a produce display is baffling enough — but the coyote somehow was then able to worm its way back inside the refrigerator shelf in seconds, right after an officer yanked it out by its tail.
A clear gold medal performance from Wile E. Coyote.
The Aldi’s on Kedzie in Humboldt Park
— Eddie (@EddieBarstool) January 13, 2025
I was prepared to see him pull out a opossum or a raccoon. Did NOT expect that pic.twitter.com/4CbaWkjhwy
