It’s no secret that just about every ingredient on grocery store shelves and restaurant menus has gotten more expensive for the businesses that sell them. And it should come as no surprise that those cost increases are being passed on to consumers. But it may come as a bit of a shock that the price increases don’t stop there. Not by a long shot. As many Americans are struggling to keep up with food bills, food companies are gorging on gluttonous profits. “In mid-October, PepsiCo, whose prices for its drinks and chips were up 17 percent in the latest quarter from year-earlier levels, reported that its third-quarter profit grew more than 20 percent. Likewise, Coca-Cola reported profit up 14 percent from a year earlier, thanks in large part to price increases. Restaurants keep getting more expensive, too. Chipotle Mexican Grill, which said prices by the end of the year would be nearly 15 percent higher than a year earlier, reported $257.1 million in profit in the latest quarter, up nearly 26 percent from a year earlier.” NYT (Gift Article): Food Prices Soar, and So Do Companies’ Profits. I hope the price of Pepto Bismol isn’t going up because this story gave me a stomach ache.