Food prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), increased 3.3 percent in 1996. This increase was greater than the overall increase in the CPI (which rose 2.9 percent) for the second consecutive year. Higher charges for processing and distributing food, as measured by the farm-to-retail price spread, were primarily responsible for the 1996 increase. The prices farmers received for commodities, as measured by the farm value of USDA's market basket of foods, rose 8.1 percent. The farm value share of the food dollar spent in grocery stores in 1996 was 25 percent, an increase of 1 percent from 1995. The farm-to-retail price spread of USDA's market basket of foods rose 3.2 percent, partly reflecting higher prices of inputs, such as labor.