Food Prices in the 1970s

March 29, 2021 ·

Grocery prices have fluctuated so much over the years that we often ask ourselves why. There were major events that took place over the 1970s that may shed some light on why food prices were the way they were, at least for that decade.

In the summer of 1971 during his presidential re-election campaign, Richard Nixon imposed a wage and price freeze in order to excite potential voters. By the time he won the election in 1972, he relaxed the freeze, which made grocery prices shoot up. In 1973, the inflation rate reached an all-time high of 20 percent in one year, which caused stay-at-home moms to organize protests at supermarkets. There was also a boycott on meat from April 1^st to April 8^th. Nixon eventually re-imposed price controls later that year. Groceries steadily increased proportionally to income, and the household income was lower (the minimum hourly wage in the 1970s was $2.10, if you can believe it!)

Here’s a breakdown of what various food cost each year (and don’t forget to visit our article on food prices in the 1950s and in the 1960s !)

1970:

To put it into perspective, $1 in 1970 would be around $6.55 today.

Milk: $1.32 per gallon
Eggs: 60 cents per dozen
Bread: 70 cents
Bacon: 85-95 cents per pound
Apples: 59 cents per 4 pounds
Bananas: 12 cents per pound
Cantaloupe: 89 cents for 3
Heinz Kraft® Ketchup: 19 cents

Some of the most popular grocery items were:

Cheese logs
Carrot cake
Meat loaf
Gelatin salad
Macaroni salad
Trifle

1971:

Birds Eye (now Heinz Kraft®) Cool Whip: 38 cents
Celery: 38 cents
Cranberries: 29 cents per pound
Fresh turkey: 43 cents per pound
Idaho potatoes: 98 cents per 10 pounds
Jif® peanut butter: 59 cents
Eggs: 25 cents per dozen
Sliced loaf of bread: 16 cents

1972:

Half-gallon of milk: 59 cents
Can of Campbell’s® Soup: 39 cents
Bread: 25 cents
Milk: $1.33
Ragu® spaghetti sauce: 83 cents
2 oz of Nestle® decaf coffee: 54 cents
King Oscar® sardines: 41 cents
6 pack of 12 oz cans of Pepsi®: 69 cents

1973:

Bread: 27 cents
Milk: $1.36
12 oz box of Kellogg’s® Corn Flakes: 25 cents
26 oz Hershey’s Chocolate Bar: 10 cents
15 oz Nabisco® Oreo Cookies: 49 cents

1974:

McDonald’s Big Mac®: 65 cents
McDonald’s regular hamburger: 30 cents
Bread: 28 cents
Milk: $1.39
18 oz box of Kellogg’s® Corn Flakes: 43 cents
6 pack of 12 oz cans of Pepsi®: 88 cents
4 oz Hershey’s Chocolate Bar: 15 cents

1975:

There was a rise in vegetarian cooking, but vegetables were often canned and rarely organic. This was also the year the government began to require nutrition labels.

Milk: $1.57 per gallon
Eggs: 70 cents per dozen
Ground beef: 99 cents per pound
1.05 oz Hershey’s chocolate bar: 15 cents
12 oz box of Kellogg’s® Corn Flakes: 45 cents
McDonalds was celebrating 25 years of business, so even though their regular hamburger was 30 cents, for their birthday celebration on April 20^th, they sold them at their original price of 15 cents