The price of food

[Poetrypatty]

It has just gone up so much hasn't it. My weekly shop is approaching double what it used to be. It must have reached the point where it's causing real hardship and making people have to change what they eat. I know some can't afford food at all (and I do donate to food banks) but even for those who can, it's got harder. There must be so many now under a significant amount of pressure with fuel going up and Christmas coming

How much would 4 chip butties be? £6/7??

Yes, Lentils, onion, spuds and carrots are cheap but it does get boring.

@Thatswhathappens

Do you really think that the person who said it is cheaper to buy from the chippy is buying fish and chips for each person! You clearly haven’t got a clue! It will be a large bag of chips to share with maybe a few jumbo sausages which will be cheaper than cooking, seriously for those that are saying it’s cheaper to have Iceland/Asda fish and chips haven’t got a clue. And I totally agree my food bull is probably £20/30 a week more than it was a year or so ago.

Is it though? Even if you had to buy everything from scratch it's less than £5 even using Sainsbury's prices. Potatoes - 89p for 2.5kg Sausages - £1.50 for pack of 8 Vegetable oil - £1.09 for 1L Salt - 95p Vinegar - 50p

A regular chips at my local chippy is £2.50!

Yes, I’ve noticed this. I had to double check what I had in my online basket this evening as I couldn’t believe how much the total was considering how little was in there.

I've always been pretty frugal and have been getting really frustrated recently at how much less my £ is stretching. I've become a bit laid back in terms of frugality so perhaps time to get back on it. Check of frugal fit mom on YouTube, lots of good ideas and methods on there which will help people, certainly taught me a thing or two.

I think shopping is more expensive as there are fewer offers or buy 2 get 1 free offers.

I think children are easy to feed. Instead of endless chips why not tomato soup and buttered rolls, boiled egg and soldiers, crumpets and muffins, beans on toast. Simple things that they enjoy and are warming after a day at school.

@mrsm43s this was £3 (battered sausage, small(!) chips, scraps and Irish curry sauce)
I'm no small eater and I struggled to finish it

Yes and benefits have been at almost frozen rates for over a decade.

That is the real disgrace. People keep voting for others to starve though.

Food has gone up, petrol has gone up, gas has gone up. Council tax due to go up substantially in April which coincides with the NI hike. Rents and house prices have shot up too. Where will it end? Most of us aren't getting pay rises in line with all these cost rises.

I'm assuming because it's cheap to borrow, people are just getting in debt to fund the basics. An interest rate rise will be a disaster.

@cloudtree

I work in a chip shop in a very deprived area (around 60-70% on UC with multiple kids) and was chatting to a group of customers who told me that it's now cheaper for them to feed their families entirely on chippy food rather than go shopping.

Given that you work in the chippy though you’ll know that that simply isn’t true. How much would it cost to get fish and chips for four people? Way more than the cost of a meal cooked at home. I don’t disagree that food prices have gone up but this sort of thing just isn’t true.

I think this is true. I have met people who give their dc's a kids meal - usually small sausage n chips- for a couple of quid and say its cheaper than feeding them at home. Of course it isn't but a lot of people are not educated on nutrition and budgeting

@Malibuismysecrethome

I think shopping is more expensive as there are fewer offers or buy 2 get 1 free offers.

I think children are easy to feed. Instead of endless chips why not tomato soup and buttered rolls, boiled egg and soldiers, crumpets and muffins, beans on toast. Simple things that they enjoy and are warming after a day at school.

Little kids are (relatively) easy to feed but they grow into hungry teens! Teenage boys are shockingly expensive to feed and need a lot of calories to feel full up. Much more than a grown adult man in my experience.

sharing fish &chips is cheaper if you have hardly any money on your meter though and have to choose

My husband seemed amazed when I said how much our food bill is now. I can’t think of one thing that is the same price as it was three years ago!

@NotMyCat that really is value for money!

Burger and chips at my local chippy is 99p, mini fish and chips 99p yes it’s crappy cheap meat with lots of filler and salt, these families are not buying a full fish or sausage they are getting the deals. People are so ignorant, lots of children get a packet of crisps and a cheapo sausage roll for their evening meal.

I live in a very poor fishing town in the North West, my husband has a decent job we aren’t entitled to child benefit because he apparently earns too much but we are struggling and finding the food shop ridiculously expensive I feel for the families around me, it’s heartbreaking.

Mum2jakie yes I’ve got 2 sons lol it’s just a shame to see little kids sharing a bag if chips for their tea. It’s a nightmare for young families what with fuel, energy and food cost all rising.

@FanGirlX

I'm assuming because it's cheap to borrow, people are just getting in debt to fund the basics. An interest rate rise will be a disaster.

This. It annoys me that people are complaining about the returns on their savings.

People will starve and lose their homes if the interest rates go up at the moment.

@Malibuismysecrethome

Mum2jakie yes I’ve got 2 sons lol it’s just a shame to see little kids sharing a bag if chips for their tea. It’s a nightmare for young families what with fuel, energy and food cost all rising.

Yep, and seeing kids eating crisps on the way to school, grateful that they've eaten something People really don't live in the real world do they

Food prices have definitely gone up but as an actual cost is still pretty cheap in the UK. However against the backdrop of increased taxes, wage stagnation & high housing & fuel costs it still bites. And it will be worse next year.

I live in a very poor fishing town in the North West, my husband has a decent job we aren’t entitled to child benefit because he apparently earns too much but we are struggling and finding the food shop ridiculously expensive I feel for the families around me, it’s heartbreaking.

Entitlement to child benefit stops at £60k and if you don’t work then you should be claiming it for the NI credits for your state pension. Save the money in readiness to pay back via self assessment. I can’t believe £60k in the north west isn’t more than “decent”!

I’ve just done the maths and my food bills have risen by 20%.

People really don't live in the real world do they

I do live in the real world but where I live it costs 80p for a single pickled onion at my local chippy and a 99p chip supper is about as realistic around here as a pig flying. Junk food and takeaways are just as subject to inflation as any other food. If prices are going up for potatoes for consumers they’re likely to also be going up for chip shops and crisp manufacturers.

@TuftyMarmoset

People really don't live in the real world do they

I do live in the real world but where I live it costs 80p for a single pickled onion at my local chippy and a 99p chip supper is about as realistic around here as a pig flying. Junk food and takeaways are just as subject to inflation as any other food. If prices are going up for potatoes for consumers they’re likely to also be going up for chip shops and crisp manufacturers.

No one is really talking about a decent fish and chip shop on a gentrified high street, a grimy chicken shop here in south east london, it’s a wing and chips for £2