It’s no secret to anyone in the United States that grocery prices have been steadily rising over the past few months. You may have questioned — or complained about — why a gallon of milk suddenly costs $5, thought back to the better days when eggs cost $2 a dozen, or completely forgone even looking at the price of meat while shopping. If this sounds like you, know that you are far from alone.
On January 3, rapper Cardi B took to Twitter to lament rising grocery store prices. In a now viral tweet, the musician implied that grocery prices are so bad right now that we all might as well just go out to eat. The Grammy winner then followed that tweet with another, expressing a sentiment many of us have probably whispered under our breath in the produce aisle: “Bitch why lettuce cost 6 dollars where I live at ?”
To some Twitter users, it seemed ridiculous that a celebrity whose net worth is projected to be around $80 million would complain about the cost of something as mundane as lettuce. Surely, Cardi could spare the $6. Hell, how did she even notice that prices have gone up? Doesn’t she have people do this stuff for her?
For those people, Cardi had answers. In a follow-up video posted to Twitter January 4, she explained that she receives a weekly summary of all of the money her household spends. And to those asking why she even cares that prices are going up in the first place given that she can afford it all with ease, she clarified that she was thinking about us, the general public. “If I think that shit is crazy, I can only imagine what middle class people or people in the hood are motherfucking thinking,” she said. As for what she hopes to get out of tweeting about it all? Don’t worry, she covered that too: “I have a big platform, so I do want anybody that’s responsible in this fucking crisis to put [prices] the fuck down. They gonna see my shit, they might put it down.”
While many praised Cardi for using her platform to advocate for change, others told her that this is what she got for voting for Democrats. But not even those naysayers can deny that she’s right. Grocery store prices have absolutely skyrocketed. While overall inflation has risen just 7.1 percent, groceries hit a staggering 12 percent increase as of November 2022. Eggs, which have suffered shortages due to the avian flu, have seen a nearly 50 percent increase in price. Those who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) allotments have been hit particularly hard. Even with increases in allotments, SNAP recipients often have trouble affording groceries as rising assistance does not match the rates at which grocery prices are going up. In short, the struggle is real.
Cardi knows that change may not happen just because of a few tweets, but at the very least, she hopes to raise awareness and get a conversation started. And start a conversation, she has. At the time of her tweets “Cardi” was trending on Twitter. Three days later, it’s unclear when high food prices will let up. But it is refreshing to see a multimillionaire use their platform to advocate for those of us who are struggling — because bitch, why does lettuce cost $6 where I live?
