Food is not expensive

We have an allotment, I always think it's amazing that food can be bought so cheaply when I think of the time and effort we put into growing things.

It’s not necessary.In 1960 families weren’t spending on any of that.

Yes there were less cars but some of that is driven by people working further from home and it's more common for both parents to work now.
Phones didn't exist in the 60s so wouldn't have been spent on. DH and I have work phones and DD uses one of my phones from 5 yrs ago so what looks expensive is actually cheap.
Loads of people still have 2nd hand cars (we do), holiday mainly in the UK, don't have loads of takeaways etc. Coffee spend surely has just replaced pubs/alcohol spend as younger people drink less and pubs are closing down.

Good quality meat and fish are expensive, but this is not an everyday thing in our house. We have meat maybe twice a week and fish the same, but otherwise it's eggs and other sources of protein.

So buy thigh fillets, they have more flavour.

Shrinkflation is such an issue I think we’ll end up buying invisible food!

I cook as much fresh as I can but I find the food bills more stressful when my kid comes back from uni as I have to buy a lot more food (typical broke but hungry student). A food shop though often includes household items (loo roll, laundry powder etc) and they are what can really bump my bills up.

I always have staples like rice, pasta and noodles but find I buy the more basic ranges when I used to buy better known brands. Food shopping budgets take up a lot of my brain space now.

We waste very little and if it’s ok for the dog to have then she’ll happily eat it.

But whole meal toast and jam or toast and an egg with a portion of fruit is perfectly healthy as part of a balanced diet during the day. Nobody needs the amount of fat that is in 2 eggs, cheese and full fat milk in one meal anyway unless again it’s part of a balanced diet throughout the day.

2 free range Tesco chicken breasts. Over £10. That’s over £20 to feed a family of 4, if you care about animal welfare.

I can see your point OP - I guess you are referring to the ease of access to food in this country in comparison to other places. I think access to food in this country is great - just like most western and developed places - and I guess the rise in food banks and apps like too good to go, means that you can access food for almost nothing, if you choose to be strategic. Also having great local connections can make food very accessible. For instance I knew a neighbour that ran a food bank, I would help her out And she would be left with tonnes of free things afterwards l, so she would have to then give it out to neighbours - including me - I would pay a little - but that’s free food.

This way of living isn’t convenient for everyone though - yes some of us have a routine where we buy everything from a supermarket and maybe can’t shop around as much and be frugal.

I do think food is expensive - I hate the amount I have to spend on it and the % of my income ot takes up. But I’m very aware of level of waste and the amount of food that is chucked out from resturants and hotels and supermarkets - it’s ridiculous which makes me wonder why not reduce the cost of food if it’s being chucked out anyway.

Depends how you look at it. Food is way more expensive than it was 3 years ago! Something I buy are nearly double what they use to be.

You can still eat well and reasonably cheap if you know how and have the means to cook and you are not particularly fussy / have any dietary requirements.

OP, you are right. We should be spending way more of our income on food, to permit all our food to be produced in a sustainable and high-welfare way, which would massively improve biodiversity and limit other damages from industrial scale farming.

Food feels expensive because it is has gone up. But it is still a far smaller proportion of our outgoings than it was historically or is elsewhere. Unfortunately our food supply system has gone wrong snd the chain is too long, with middle men making profits at the expense of farmers. Plus all the terrible processed/prepared foods and 'restaurants' where conglomerates 'add value' at the cost of our health and purses. We have forgotten how to value excellent fresh produce, and don't feel we have time to create healthy meals cos we're too busy looking at our phones .

If you think a thumb sized bit of ginger is expensive, it just highlights how unrealistic some peoples version of expensive is.

In addition to points already raised….Another unpopular opinion is that our portion sizes have also grown.

We are eating more than ever before so it is more expensive.

I also cook everything from scratch for my family of 4 yet it costs more.

I will give you an example; breakfast we have homemade sourdough bread - sure this is cheap to bake however the rest of our items listed below are expensive:

• two avocados
• cherry tomatoes
• 7 eggs
• feta cheese
• cottage cheese
• pack of raspberries
• pint of whole milk
• tahini paste

If I were to serve my family toast with butter and or jam then cereal for my two children then it would be cheaper, however that would not be as nutritious.

It's getting more expensive but I still think it's actually less as a % of income than in he70s for example

YANBU

Do people like it, of course not. But our food was way too cheap for too long- chicken for a fiver as you say. That’s going to be a low welfare chicken. I personally think meat industry needs a massive overhaul and a huge increase in price.

We eat too much generally and we eat too much shit which why there are so many obese people.

Food has become very expensive.

@ninjahamster, I agree about salmon! When I was a kid, other fish was very cheap so we ate a lot of it, salmon was a very rare treat.

As a kid we only had a counter-height fridge with a single freezer drawer. We used to eat a lot of tinned crab and meat pastes, which are surprisingly pleasant if you get used to them. The flavours tend to be strong so we would just have a little bit and then bulk out meals with vegetables.

My kids absolutely love yellow smoked basa fillets with a runny fried egg, frozen peas and home made mash. Poach the basa filets very gently in milk - carefully so they stay succulent. Once cooked, use the smoky milk to mix in with the mashed up potatoes - it makes it taste delicious and you won’t need butter etc. I know this sounds weird but honestly it’s delectable! Basa is often on special offer in Tesco and freezes well.

My other tip is tinned mackeral. It’s very cheap compared to tuna.I struggle to get one of the dc to eat this simply based on how it looks, but the other one loves it. I serve it flaked alongside a big green salad and lots of black pepper, lemon juice, and fresh coriander if you like it (or could you parsely or dill). For carbs, toasted wholemeal pitta and sometimes I make a cold bean salad (tinned mixed beans and a little bit of onion chopped in).

But you can’t quantify that. How much is disposable income? How much should we have, it’s all subjective and down to choices re housing and big expenses. Less disposable income to some isn’t to others.Also parents raising kids previously didn’t have masses of disposable income. Why should we all have a huge amount of disposable income? Is that good for the planet?

Hi @ragandbonewoman
"Food is not expensive" is your opening gambit. Then you proceed to agree with another poster that you have far far less disposable income.

Food is therefore expensive. End of conversation.

Add shrinkflation to inflation and you have rip off Britain.

Prepacked vegetable sizes have shrunk so you end up having to buy double.

We try wherever possible to only buy loose veg and fruit but the option isn't always available.

Food is expensive. When we are doing label changes at work the prices are going up by 80p, 90p and over £1 now, a few years ago it would be 10p max when we changed them. Promotions and offers are not as good now and everything is getting smaller so it’s costing more but you are getting less.

It’s cheap all year round. A thumb of ginger is next to nothing.

But I think people do spend money on things they don’t need. I look around and you’d be surprised at the incomes with car loans for expensive cars, expensive phones for all the family from a young age, holidays every year, regular take aways and coffees, frequent new clothes, gadgets nails etc.

We as a family couldn’t and wouldn’t waste money on most of it. It’s not necessary.In 1960 families weren’t spending on any of that. You can’t have it all. It isn’t good for the environment or our health or pockets. I grew up in the 70s and 80s with a dad on a good wage and a mum on a minimum wage. We had an old second hand car, never ate out or had take aways, went on holiday but not every year and cheaply,obviously no phones or gadgets etc but ate well with limited meat.Bar phones and travelling my kids have had the same.

I've never known ginger to reduce in price, it's the same all year round, expensive!

It is true that as a % of income it’s way lower than when I was a child. The variety was just not there either and the expectation of trying fancy stuff. I do think the last couple of decades of very cheap food gave us an expectation. Twenty years ago I bought almost everything organic including a lot of meat and my bill was £50 a week. I’m thinking about the amount of food either. There were zero snacks when I was a kid, no eating between meals. Almost no one was overweight then either so there is also the amount bought.

I eat like that now that my picky kids have turned into self sufficient adults, and it's super cheap and about as healthy as you can get.

Tinned beans, tomatoes and fish (incl. oily fish)
Frozen fish, berries and veggies.
Bulk dried whole grains, seeds, pulses, nuts.
A bucket of plain Greek yoghurt from Aldi.
Pickled/preserved veg (olives, sundried tomatoes etc) from Aldi.
Tofu.
Whatever fruit and veg is in season and cheap (and I'll buy lots, then cook and freeze it).

I splurge on higher quality food when I feel like it and can afford it (and usually bought in bulk and/or when reduced); salmon, coffee/tea, free range eggs, 'posh' nuts and olive oil.