Q: With the price of gas dropping, and continuing to do so, why haven’t we seen a decrease in the cost of grocery prices?
—Judi Woolwine, Roswell
A: Fuel prices make up only a small portion of the transportation costs that affect food prices, so they don't have a huge impact at the grocery store.
Transportation prices are only 4.7 percent of the retail food dollar, Annemarie Kuhns, an economist in the Food Markets Branch of the USDA’s Economic Research Service, told Q&A on the News in an email.
“The largest portion of retail food costs goes toward food processing, wholesale and retail trade costs,” she wrote.
Retail food prices rose 1.2 percent in 2015, lower than the “historical average” of 2.6 percent, thanks to lower commodity and oil prices, and the strength of the U.S. dollar.
“ERS forecasts grocery store prices to rise on the whole by 2 to 3 percent, in line with the historical average,” this year, Kuhns wrote.
Q: What were the results of President Carter’s grandson’s autopsy? I would like to know what the young man died from.
—Peggy Robison, Alpharetta
A: No autopsy was performed on Jeremy Carter, the 28-year-old grandson of former President Jimmy Carter.
The GBI and the Fayette County coroner decided not to perform an autopsy on Jeremy Carter, who died Dec. 20 while he was napping at his family’s home in Peachtree City, the AJC reported last month.
Jeremy Carter was the son of Jeff and Annette Carter, the youngest of Jimmy and Rosalynn’s three sons.
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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