SMITHFIELD, Va. — In rural Smithfield, a small family-run store can be found at the intersection of two country roads- Darden's.
The store has been around since 1952 and is famous for their $1 ham sandwich. Recently, they had to raise the price to $1.25.
“Everything has gone up,” said owner DeeDee Darden. “We felt like well if the dollar store can do it, we can do it too.”
She said the costs of goods and services caused the 25% increase.
“It’s a lot of labor, packaging, all that stuff has gone up like crazy,” said Darden.
Christopher Newport University economics professor Rik Chakraborti told News 3 that even though everything feels expensive - which it is - we are actually trending in the right direction.
“Most of this year we’ve been in a state that we call disinflation, it means inflation prices are still rising, but they’re rising at slower rates,” said Chakraborti.
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He said the current inflation rate is 3.7% in the United States. In July of 2022, it was 9.1%. Chakraborti said consumers are still feeling the impact, especially if your pay hasn't increased as inflation has increased.
“If your pay raises have not kept up pace, with the speed at which things are getting more expensive, then effectively you’re looking at a pay cut,” said Chakraborti.
However, he said all in all, we're better off than we were a year ago.
“We’re moving in the right direction," said Chakraborti.
