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HomeInflationFood away from home
August 2026

Food away from home price index

The Bureau of Labor Statistics measures the change in what households pay for food away from home. The figures below are for the month of August 2026.

397.868index level, August 2026
+3.37%change over 12 months
+0.25%change over 1 month

Last 24 months

MonthIndex (1982–84=100)Change from previous month
August 2024370.348+0.26%
September 2024371.604+0.34%
October 2024372.486+0.24%
November 2024373.530+0.28%
December 2024374.644+0.30%
January 2025375.532+0.24%
February 2025376.991+0.39%
March 2025378.363+0.36%
April 2025380.039+0.44%
May 2025381.228+0.31%
June 2025382.750+0.40%
July 2025383.808+0.28%
August 2025384.909+0.29%
September 2025385.451+0.14%
November 2025387.202not available
December 2025389.889+0.69%
January 2026390.471+0.15%
February 2026391.706+0.32%
March 2026392.652+0.24%
April 2026393.546+0.23%
May 2026394.728+0.30%
June 2026395.633+0.23%
July 2026396.859+0.31%
August 2026397.868+0.25%

What an index is

Each index is a price level for one kind of food, scaled so that the average for 1982–84 equals 100. Because the starting point is arbitrary, read an index by its change over time, not by comparing the level of one item against another.

A change of +3.37% over 12 months means the index stood at 384.909 in August 2025 and moved to 397.868 in August 2026. Where a month has no value, the table says not available; no figure here is estimated.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted. Data month: August 2026. Record: series CUUR0000SEFV, item code SEFV.