1997 Grocery Receipt Stuns TikTok by Showing How Cheap Food Once Was

A faded grocery receipt from 1997 is stirring equal parts disbelief and nostalgia after resurfacing online nearly three decades later — and it’s a striking snapshot of how much grocery costs have climbed.

Newlywed Zoe Dippel found the receipt during a girls’ night at her sister-in-law’s home. While flipping through a baby book that once belonged to her late mother-in-law, she came across a long H-E-B receipt dated June 20, 1997.

The shopping trip covered 122 everyday items — produce, pantry staples, baby food, and diapers for twin girls — and the grand total was just $155.

“We were immediately shocked,” Dippel told TODAY, describing how everyone started reading prices out loud. As they kept going, she said, “our jaws dropped.”

“It wasn’t until that moment that I truly realized how much the world has changed in nearly 30 years,” she added. After she shared the receipt online, the reaction quickly snowballed.

Her TikTok video has drawn more than 2 million views, with viewers comparing the total to what they spend now. Many noted that $155 today might cover only a small cart — not a full grocery run.

Some commenters couldn’t get past the individual prices on the receipt, especially items listed in cents. “I’m sorry, CENTS?!?!!” one person wrote, reacting to produce costs that now feel unreal.

Others said the receipt was oddly validating. “It makes me sick to my stomach to see how expensive groceries have become,” another commenter shared, saying the comparison confirmed what they’ve been feeling at checkout.

In follow-up videos, Dippel answered questions about how the receipt was still readable after so many years. She told TODAY it was printed on regular paper with ink, unlike many modern receipts that use thermal paper.

She also began calling out specific item increases. Little Debbie’s brownies, for example, jumped from $1.09 in 1997 to $5.75 today. A bag of coffee rose from $2.47 to $9.43. Diapers climbed from $12.99 to $31.47.

At viewers’ request, Dippel tried to recreate the entire 1997 grocery haul using H-E-B’s shopping app. Even allowing for small differences tied to curbside ordering, the total came out to nearly $500 — about a 220% increase from the original receipt.

Price increases over time are expected, but the scale still caught people off guard. By comparison, inflation data suggests the buying power of a dollar has roughly doubled since 1997.

Wages, however, haven’t kept pace for many households. Minimum wage rose from $4.75 an hour at the time of the receipt to $7.25 today.

As Dippel read through the comments, she said she got a clearer sense of how widespread the strain has become. She told TODAY that people across age groups shared stories about how hard it is to keep up.

One message stood out to her in particular: a woman wrote that her father once supported a family of five on the same salary she earns today. Now she and her husband both work — and still struggle to get by.

Dippel, a 24-year-old dental hygienist, said she feels lucky to be managing. Still, she called the response “eye-opening and heartbreaking.”

“It shouldn’t be this hard to live,” she said.

Nearly 30 years later, one simple receipt is telling a much bigger story — and for millions online, the numbers don’t need any extra explanation.