Lunch prices have skyrocketed amid inflation, shortages and supply chain snags, according to The Wall Street Journal.
ASC employees aiming for a quick lunch break may think twice before purchasing the same salad or sandwich they did a year ago. Administrators may also be wary of springing for team lunches as often as prices climb.
A bowl of greens costs 11 percent more today than it did last March, and the overall price of menu items recorded the largest 12-month increase in more than 40 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Some workers are seeing the average price of their favorite takeout lunches double since the pandemic began in 2020, while national chains are also raising prices. Potbelly, a sandwich chain, upped prices by 5.4 percent in February.
Coupled with increased gas prices, employees report spending $20 to $50 more per day to commute to work and buy lunch, according to the report. Bringing lunch from home is one solution, but even grocery store prices are up 8.6 percent when compared with March 2022.