A new study of high US food prices says the culprit is consumer behavior, not inflation

The covid-19 pandemic pushed food prices to record highs. Only since September has the rate of change in food prices started to decrease, but prices are still up a lot—10.6% year-over-year in the US in November, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That, in part, reflects a decline in commodity prices such as wheat and corn finally reaching the supermarket.

But the decline in the price of commodities may have less of an influence on grocery prices than we think. A research note in September from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas...