Inflation, rising food prices leave US families skipping simple joys

• American families, like the Smiths, who spend most of their income on necessities such as groceries, gas and rent are struggling with inflation
• Last month, “food at home” prices jumped 11%, the largest 12-month increase since November 1980
• Small, quality-of-life pleasures that they could afford before the pandemic have now fallen by the wayside for many

At least once a week during dinner, Cathy Smith and her husband, Robert, are confronted with the same choice: Don’t let the kids have seconds or forgo a meal themselves.

“I have growing children, and I want to make sure they have enough portions to nourish themselves,” says Smith, 40, a mother of five who works at an Atlanta-area school district as a recruiter. “It’s to the point that we have stopped buying cereal because milk is so expensive.”