We thought we'd check in to see how the headlines have been affecting your lives and your budgets, and what better way to do that than at the grocery store?
In this ongoing series, we plan to visit various grocery stores and learn more about what people are seeing amid Trump's tariff hikes. We're asking one of the most basic questions when it comes to spending: What’s in your shopping cart?
Share with us how the state of the economy is affecting your shopping habits and where we should go next. Leave us a voicemail at 808-792-8217 or email us at talkback@hawaiipublicradio.org.
We caught up with Jean Hing at Palama Supermarket in Kalihi. She said she recently bought more canned goods at Costco to stock her pantry before prices rise even more.
HPR spoke to Oscar outside a Safeway in Honolulu as he finished buying groceries for the week. He said his two bags of food totaled about $150.
Let's set off next to a Safeway in Kailua, where we chatted with Denise about egg prices and other kitchen costs. She said it's not just the eggs, it's everything.
Outside Costco Iwilei, Josh from Kāneʻohe said he was shopping to meal prep for his daughter, who is a student athlete. The conversation soon turned to how tariffs threaten Josh's line of work.
At Shima's Supermarket in Waimānalo, Alika was swapping out spam for luncheon meat, which he said is a lot cheaper. That's also the reason he's purchasing more pork than beef these days.
Back at Costco Iwilei, newlywed Michelle braved a busy Saturday picking up some everyday grocery essentials. She said that with the uptick in prices, sheʻs looking at purchasing things seasonally.
We met Nelson Smith at Times Supermarket in Honolulu, just off King Street. He shared that the price to satisfy his sweet tooth has gone up. Specifically, Smith said he's noticed that the price of cake has gone up, and the portions have gotten smaller as well.
We ran into Bruce Bryant, the owner of South Shore Grill on Oʻahu, at ChefZone. He's been grappling with passing on costs to his customers, due to the rising price of both food and insurance. He said that he made price changes to his menu in late February, but should have done it sooner.
At ChefZone, David, who works for Southwest Airlines, was shopping for an upcoming company lunch. He shared that due to price increases, they've had to be more strategic when planning these lunches.
Again at ChefZone, we talked to Kandi Miranda who is a small business owner from Hawaiʻi Island. She was visiting Oʻahu for her 10-year-old daughter, Dioni's, baseball tournament. Miranda shared that she has businesses on both Hawaiʻi Island and Oʻahu. She has noticed that the cost of everything has skyrocketed, which she said has made it difficult for business owners.
These interviews aired on The Conversation in April, May and June 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
