‘Can’t afford it’: Rising grocery prices spur formal complaint from lawmaker

LIHUE, Hawaii (KHNL/Gray News) - Prices on grocery items have gone up just about everywhere and a lawmaker in Hawaii says prices are getting to be excessive.

Items in Hawaii are known to be higher than usual, but a loaf of bread priced at over $13 has forced Kauai County Council Chair Mel Rapozo to file a complaint.

“I thought it was a joke!” he said regarding the prices seen when recently shopping.

According to Rapozo, he verified the price and then expressed his frustration online where hundreds of others also joined him in venting their outrage and dismay.

“I have children who don’t live here because they can’t afford it,” Rapozo said. “Here on Kauai, we are used to things being a few dollars more, but these seemed too much.”

KHNL reports that the $13 bread in Kauai was found to be nearly $3 more than the same loaf found in Lanai and Honolulu.

“Prices have definitely gone up with the pandemic and inflation,” said the manager at Molokai Short Bread.

According to the restaurant, to make the same profit they made before the pandemic, the bread should be priced around $11, but they strain to keep it at $8.

The latest University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization report shows Honolulu’s inflation in March rose 4.8% over the previous year, which is 34% higher than the national increase.

Some consumers are fighting back by shopping elsewhere.

Target, for example, is cutting prices on brand products, and some Target shoppers use their phones to price check.

Rapozo said he filed a complaint about the bread with the State Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

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