The deceleration of the rate of inflation continued in April 2023. After many months of double-digit increases, insights firm Circana (formerly IRI) found that the average price per unit for total food and beverages increased by 8.2% in April 2023 compared with April 2022. At the same time, this is 23.1% above the April 2020 levels — illustrating that inflation continues to take a big bite out of American households’ paychecks. Additionally, the temporary Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) emergency allotments (EAs) — a temporary benefit increase that Congress enacted to address rising food insecurity and provide economic stimulus during the COVID-19 pandemic — ended in March 2023. The average SNAP recipient person receives about $90 a month less and households receive at least $95 less up to reductions of $250 per month. Circana and 210 Analytics continue to track the marketplace challenges on meat department sales and trends. The April report is made possible by Hillphoenix.