CPI: food away from home
By Marji · Updated · Sources and editorial policy
Also called: food away from home · cpi restaurant
Food away from home is the Consumer Price Index for what consumers pay at restaurants and other foodservice; food at home covers groceries. In August 2026, food away from home was 3.4% above a year earlier and food at home 2.2%. From February 2020 to August 2026, the restaurant index rose 37.3%.
For an operator it answers one practical question: how does my price change compare with everyone else's? It is published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (series CUUR0000SEFV), with separate indexes for full-service and limited-service meals. USDA's Economic Research Service forecasts it each month; its September 25, 2026 release expects 3.5% for 2026 and 2.6% for 2027 — the 2027 food price forecast shows how far those forecasts have missed.
| Index | 12 months to August 2026 | February 2020 to August 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Food away from home (CUUR0000SEFV) | +3.4% | +37.3% |
| Full-service meals and snacks (CUUR0000SEFV01) | +3.5% | +36.8% |
| Limited-service meals and snacks (CUUR0000SEFV02) | +3.2% | +40.1% |
| Food at home (CUUR0000SAF11) | +2.2% | — |
| Series | Measures | Use it to |
|---|---|---|
| Food away from home | Prices consumers pay at restaurants and other foodservice | Compare your menu price changes with the national pace |
| Food at home | Grocery prices | See what eating at home costs your guests |
| PPI, food | Prices received by producers | Watch cost pressure early: USDA says the CPI "typically lags movements in the PPI" |
| BLS average price series | Dollar retail prices for specific foods | Benchmark one ingredient's national retail level |
The two consumer series do not always move together. USDA's Economic Research Service notes that they rose at similar rates from the 1970s to the early 2000s, but between 2009 and 2019 "their growth rates diverged": grocery prices fell in 2016 and 2017 while restaurant prices kept rising. ERS says differences between the costs of serving prepared food at restaurants and of retailing groceries "partly explain this divergence."
The guide that works it through
Restaurant vs. Grocery Price Inflation Since 2020
Compare restaurant and grocery price changes in 23 BLS local areas through August or September 2026, with matched periods and a worked dish-pricing example.
Related terms
Commodity index
A tracked measure of what a food commodity costs nationally — the benchmark that separates a market move from a vendor move.
Price creep
Small, frequent supplier price increases that individually look ignorable and collectively remove several points of margin a year.
Menu price
The price a dish is sold at — set from plate cost, target margin, and what the dish is worth in the room.