When Groceries Become a Balancing Act for Belizean Families

These days, the sticker shock doesn’t wait for the gas pump, it hits right at the grocery checkout. As prices climb on everything from chicken and fresh vegetables to rice and cooking oil, many families are rethinking what goes into their carts and what stays on the shelf. For households already juggling rent, utilities, and school expenses, every trip down the aisle has become a careful balancing act. Tonight, we break down how grocery prices have climbed over the years and how working families are coping. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

These days, making a grocery list isn’t just about planning meals, it’s about making choices. Families are weighing what they’d like to buy against what they can actually afford, item by item. In my own home, that calculation has become part of the routine, turning a simple shopping trip into a careful exercise in compromise.

 

Amber Lopez

“You know what we need to add, the baby need pampers and formula, its rough out here.”

 

Paul Lopez

“How you feel about this grocery list?”

 

Amber Lopez

“I don’t know, Ih the hot mih head.”

 

News Five examined ten everyday grocery staples and what new data from the Statistical Institute of Belize reveals about rising prices. Since March 2022, chicken, beef, and beans have all climbed. Chicken cuts jumped from $3.21 to $3.74 a pound, whole chicken rose to $3.26, ground beef surged from $5.51 to $7.80, and red kidney beans leapt from $1.99 to $3.03 a pound.

 

This whole chicken use to be two-ninety-three in 2022 and now we the look at three dollars and twenty-six cents in 2026. So we the look at least an increase of at least thirty to thirty-five cents.

 

The price hikes didn’t stop there. As we moved down the aisles, picking up other must-haves like ground beef and Irish potatoes, a staple for a good potato salad, the higher costs followed us every step of the way.

 

Paul Lopez

“SIB says, Irish potato gone up from two thirty-eight to two-seventy-one in 2026 and that is an average, because at this grocery store Irish potato is at three, twenty-five a pound.”

 

Bananas have also seen a sharp increase in price from 2022 at fifteen cents for one. As we cross items off our grocery list, it becomes all the more apparent that things have become increasingly expensive over time. A liter of vegetable oil is now five dollars and thirty-five cents, up from four dollars and seventy-four cents in 2022.

 

Paul Lopez

“Sugar in 2023 was seventy-two cents per pound. Now its one thirty-two to thirty-nine on average per pound. So, sugar almost double in price in the span of three years.”

 

More essential items in the grocery cart, more price increases, hot dog bread, cake mix and the list goes on.

 

Paul Lopez

“How much? Eighty-two dollars and sixty-six cents, ok cool.”

 

For a household earning minimum wage, that price tag equals about sixteen hours, or two full days, of work. My own household has also picked up a few practical tips that other families can use to stretch their grocery dollars.

 

Amber Lopez, Belize City Resident

“First thing first take the time to actually pick the most affordable item. Sometimes we tend to pick the things we think taste the best or the brands we want, but the off brands ok too, because most times they do the same thing we need them to do. So compare prices. The next thing, buy what you need, literally buy what you need and lastly, don’t throw away money. Find all your coins and use them.”

 

As grocery prices continue to climb, households are being pushed to rethink spending habits, prioritize essentials, and find creative ways to stretch limited incomes. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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