Addressing Food Affordability in Italy: An Analysis of Food Inflation Dynamics Using Open Data

ABSTRACT The COVID‐19 pandemic and the Russia‐Ukraine conflict have worsened global food insecurity and deepened inequalities. Disruptions in food supply chains have led to rising prices and food insecurity worldwide. In Italy and other European countries, high inflation rates have underscored the need for real‐time data to inform economic research and policy interventions aimed at fostering equitable development. This study analyses retail food prices in Italy by constructing price indices that assess food inflation using web‐scraped data from the Osservatorio Prezzi web portal, covering August 2021 to March 2023. The findings reveal a growing disparity between minimum and maximum prices, especially for staples like rice and pasta. These price gaps highlight economic disparities and challenges faced by vulnerable households, exacerbating food insecurity and perpetuating inequality. Improved data collection is essential for accurately assessing household food consumption and guiding evidence‐based policies and targeted interventions.