One third of inflation-ravaged U.S. households are skipping meals or cutting portion sizes

One-third of households skip meals or reduce portions, and nearly two-thirds would struggle to raise $400 quickly, according to a survey of months of runaway inflation hurting everyday Americans.

Consumer data firm Dunnhumby says shoppers are increasingly feeling the pain of rising supermarket prices, which many respondents said were much higher than the official 13.5 percent rate recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Food insecurity is on the rise across the country, researchers found, with 18 percent of the roughly 2,000 study participants saying they weren’t getting enough to eat.

Another 31 percent of households skipped or reduced meals in the past year because their cupboards were empty — a 5 percent increase since the last time they were asked in May and June.

Millions of Americans also lack a financial safety net, researchers found. About 64 percent said they wouldn’t be able to raise $400 in no time — a 4 percent increase from five months ago.

The results differed between states that participated in the study. Only 42 percent of Wisconsin residents said they would struggle to get the money together quickly, compared to 77 of people in Louisiana and Oklahoma.

A customer buys eggs at a grocery store in Houston, Texas. Eggs are up nearly 40 percent in price in the year to August as inflation hits consumers’ wallets

As a result, consumers are walking with their wallets. Since April-May, shoppers have shifted 2.1 percent of their spending to low-cost “dollar stores,” while cutting spending in luxury stores by 1.1 percent, researchers said.

Grant Steadman, Dunnhumby’s regional president, said that while “inflation may slow in parts of the economy,” checkout prices have remained high and “consumers are responding by changing their shopping behavior.”

“Perhaps most disturbingly, nearly a third are cutting back or eliminating some meals altogether,” Steadman added after a survey of some 2,000 consumers.

The survey comes as Americans experienced another month of economic hardship, and while average gas prices have fallen to $3.79 a gallon, the pain is increasingly felt by shoppers at supermarket checkouts.

The data also comes 35 days before the midterm elections, when voters will decide which party will control Congress for the next two years of Joe Biden’s presidency, and many say the economy is the most important thing on their minds.

US consumer prices rose unexpectedly in August, up 8.3 percent year-on-year, and underlying inflation accelerated as rent, healthcare and food costs rose.

According to the Department of Labor’s consumer price index, the total cost of food rose 11.4 percent, while the home food, groceries category rose 13.5 percent – the strongest increase since the late 1970s.

Jesus Montiel, Krista Mason and their daughter Diana, 2, spend time together at their home in Afton, Wyoming, where inflation has made it even harder for working parents to run a household

Shoppers have noticed the sharp rise in the cost of eggs, which jumped nearly 40 percent in the year to August — meaning the price of a dozen rose from $4.63 to a whopping $7.69 in some stores.

Other inventory products that have seen major price increases include milk (which rose 17 percent in the year to August), oranges (14 percent), roasted coffee (18.7 percent), margarine (38.3 percent) and breakfast cereals (23. 3 percent).

In addition to watching rising prices, many shoppers have taken to social media to complain about “shrink inflation” — manufacturers shrinking the size of their products and not lowering prices.

Others have noted that the price of food in supermarkets has risen (13.5 percent), while restaurant bills have risen by an average of 8 percent, the Department of Labor says, making restaurants relatively more affordable.

Supermarket prices have risen faster as they are more directly affected by rising food costs and global supply chain issues. In eateries, the cost of ingredients is only a small part of the total bill.

According to SellCell, which also tracks consumer data, millions of cash-strapped Americans are cutting luxury, entertainment, grocery shopping, shutting down electrical appliances and seeking new sources of income amid the economic tightness.

Nearly half of Americans say they cut back on movies, shows and other entertainment to make ends meet, while 41.5 percent stop eating at restaurants or ordering takeaways.

Millions are looking for ways to make money, researchers say. Nearly a fifth of respondents were looking for a second job and more than a tenth sell old televisions, computers and other technological equipment to raise money.

Polls by KFF, The Wall Street Journal, NBC News and others show that inflation and gas prices were important to voters in the upcoming midterm elections, which will determine which party controls Congress.

Gun violence, access to abortion and the cost of prescription drugs were also top concerns.

A shopper holds groceries while waiting to check out at a supermarket in San Francisco, California, as inflation forces millions of households to cut back on basic daily necessities