 ended up facing higher inflation. Low-income families also have to spend a larger portion of their income on groceries than wealthy families do. As grocery inflation slows, rising wages have gradually caught up. The average person now has to spend about the same number of hours working to fill a shopping cart as she did before the pandemic. Other countries Cavallo studied have suffered even higher food inflation, but that's little comfort to shoppers in this country who grit their teeth with every trip through the checkout aisle.