Meat eaters had one reason to appreciate the recession: Prices for beef and pork remained low.
But as barbecue season nears, prices for burgers and brats could climb.
"Yes, we are seeing meat prices increase at a rapid rate," Catherine Reuhl, a spokeswoman for grocery chain Harris Teeter, wrote in an e-mail.
Food Lion has seen wholesale meat costs jump at least 10 percent from a year ago, wrote Christy Phillips-Brown, the retailer's spokeswoman, also responding via e-mail.
"Meat prices often fluctuate based on supply and demand," she wrote, "and there is shortening of supply in both the beef and pork categories, which often results in increased prices from our suppliers."
To read the rest of this story please go to: Carolyn Shapiro, The Virginian-Pilot