Groceries | featured news

Although taxes are one of life’s certainties, they can still surprise you. Consider the iconic New York bagel: decide to have yours toasted, and it’ll come with a tax. The rationale is that sliced bagels are usually consumed on a café or store’s premises—and restaurant meals are taxed, whereas groceries (like a dozen unsliced bagels) are not.

Some popular items will cost more in 2013, while price tags on other items will be lower. TODAY financial editor Jean Chatzky, working off a list supplied by content partner Dealnews, breaks down the numbers.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Wednesday will officially launch a mail subscription service, called Goodies, that lets shoppers discover new foods from the comfort of their homes.

As demand for locally grown fruits and vegetables has increased, so too has the number of urban farmers markets sprouting up across the nation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Friday that the number of direct-sales markets has increased 9.6 percent in the past year, with California and New York leading the way.