A breakfast staple is now costing you more at the grocery store. The price of bacon is on the rise because of a nationwide shortage of pork bellies, from which bacon is made.

According to an article in USA Today, average retail prices have risen more than $1 per pound since last year to more than $4.

Locally the price per pound of bacon is below the national average.

We compared the cost of bacon at three area stores, as if we were on a budget. We focused solely on the store brand bacon.

At Wal-Mart a pound of "Great Value" bacon will set you back $2.98. At Kroger, the store brand will cost you $2.27 a pound. At HEB we found a pound of bacon for $3.97 a pound. The price at HEB may be higher because of the particular cut. The only package of bacon on the shelf claimed to be "premium cut."

Experts think bacon prices will soar even more because what's on the shelves was purchased earlier in the futures market.

However, it's unlikely that will stop people from eating bacon. More than 1.7 billion pounds of bacon are consumed in the United States each year.

You can read the USA Today article by clicking on the link below.