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Original poster

The price of food

106 replies

Poetrypatty · 30/11/2021 19:09

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 Sad

OP posts:
Pebble21uk · 01/12/2021 10:37

My online food bill at one of the major supermarkets used to average around £100 for 100 items. This was 18 months - 2 yrs ago. In that there might be a a few premium items - wine or a joint of meat, but there would also be several items costing less thatn £1... yoghurts, tinned pulses and baked beans etc.
I have an online order coming today - £95 gets me 69 items... and this is very typical now. I regularly spend £100 for around 60-70 items. What I'm buying hasn't changed.

TuftyMarmoset · 01/12/2021 10:44

@OnlyFoolsnMothers I’m not talking about a posh place either. I’m talking about a Mr Cod type place in an area MN usually tells people to avoid.

MrsPsmalls · 01/12/2021 11:51

I could get large cheesy chips £2. That could serve three primary children for tea. I'm not sure that could be done cheaper at home. Maybe 60p the potatoes or half a bag of frozen chips. 3x 20p dollops of cheese, plus fuel to heat, oil maybe, washing up and freezer costs.

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stairway · 01/12/2021 12:00

It would be much cheaper to get a chip fryer and do it at home then go to the chippie. You’d need a fryer but it is quite easy to get a free one on a free cycle group. Not healthy though and better to make a lentil curry.

userxx · 01/12/2021 13:03

@NavigatingAdolescence

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”!

Everything has gone up, why would it be any different in the NW. You don't live up here do you ?
Tyredofallthis1 · 01/12/2021 13:12

My husband really likes the Aldi pasta bake sauces that are 65p per jar. I can't make a pasta bake as nice for that price. That's true of a lot of the jar sauces. I feel a failure, but they are nicer and cheaper than I can cook.

They aren't going up so much.

NavigatingAdolescence · 01/12/2021 14:16

Everything has gone up, why would it be any different in the NW. You don't live up here do you ?

I don’t, no. I’m in HR so have a bit of understanding about salary levels in different parts of the country. (DH is from the north east also and had to move to London to get a decent salary 15-20 years ago.)

cookiemonster2468 · 01/12/2021 14:19

@OnlyFoolsnMothers

Yes it’s extremely expensive but tbh everyone acts like this is a new thing. The price of food has been creeping up and up beyond reasonable amounts for decades.
Yes, but only those with their heads in the sand would say that Brexit hasn't caused the steep rises we are seeing now.
TractorAndHeadphones · 01/12/2021 14:41

My weekly shop hasn’t changed much but I buy exactly the same thing every week. Frozen/fresh veggies, fresh meat. Sometimes rice or pasta.

The price of certain vegetables seem to fluctuate or increased wildly and certainly fruit like strawberries/blackberries v expensive but not in general…

Libertaire · 01/12/2021 14:42

Food is cheap in the U.K. If you doubt that, try France…

Inextremis · 01/12/2021 14:44

I'm in Ireland, so a bit different - but I was in the middle of doing a Tesco online order when I spotted this thread - so went into my email and checked the prices of the order I made on the same date last year - there have been very few significant changes. Buttermilk is still 79c a litre, dog chews have gone up by 2c. I can still get 3 cheeses for €10, and 3 meat or fish also for €10 (not checked the weights of the packs, so I guess that could have changed).

Our weekly Tesco order has been €100 for at least a year (currently €120 to allow for the inclusion of 'special' stuff for Christmas), and I've not noticed any decline in the variety or quality of meals we've been eating. I'm not sure if this is because Ireland hasn't had as many price rises as the UK, or whether it's just the stuff I choose hasn't been affected much.

Interesting, and how awful for those who are struggling - I really feel for them.

PerfectlyUnsuitable · 01/12/2021 14:46

I do buoys or less the same this every week.
In may I was spending between 400 and £500 per month. In November it was £600.
No change in where I am shopping, no change in what I buy…. But about £100 per month difference, prob a bit more.

PerfectlyUnsuitable · 01/12/2021 14:47

The reason why supermarkets are waiting to increase prices is because they don’t want to out people off during the festive season when so many us spend so much more than usual.

One that is gone, we will see the increases.

TractorAndHeadphones · 01/12/2021 14:47

@userxx £60K is a lot in the NW and I live in one of the more ‘expensive’ areas.
It would be a pittance in London if you didn’t own your own home

Original poster
Poetrypatty · 01/12/2021 14:51

Inextremis that's interesting, although of course Ireland still in the EU and not affected by Brexit.

If prices really are going up after Christmas, people need to think about it now to budget, with all the expense of Christmas. January could be very grim Sad

OP posts:
FanGirlX · 01/12/2021 15:13

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59477093

The average family to spend 1,700 a year more.

mydogisthebest · 01/12/2021 15:20

@Libertaire

Food is cheap in the U.K. If you doubt that, try France…
I agree. Food is cheap in the UK compared with a lot of countries. It has been too cheap really for years.

Me and DH are vegetarian and I can't say we have noticed much of an increase in the price of our shopping. Vegetables don't really seem to have gone up and neither really have things like lentils, chickpeas etc

OldTinHat · 01/12/2021 15:33

I can't afford to shop and am just eating toast, crisps and biscuits atm. However, because I'm hosting at Christmas, I pre booked a delivery slot so I can add things to it. I added a couple of extra things today and was horrified that the price of some items has doubled and quite a few are no longer available. Its not being delivered until the 22nd!

Catfog · 01/12/2021 15:37

@MrsPsmalls

I could get large cheesy chips £2. That could serve three primary children for tea. I'm not sure that could be done cheaper at home. Maybe 60p the potatoes or half a bag of frozen chips. 3x 20p dollops of cheese, plus fuel to heat, oil maybe, washing up and freezer costs.
Large cheesy chips to feed 3 school age children? You could do it cheaper at home, or more importantly you could do a lot of meals for the same price that are much healthier.
FourTeaFallOut · 01/12/2021 15:45

@Libertaire

Food is cheap in the U.K. If you doubt that, try France…
You're not kidding. I was ready to throw myself to the ground to save a bog standard strawberry rolling off the table by the end of the summer holidays.
lupad · 01/12/2021 22:26

Food is cheap in the U.K. If you doubt that, try France…

This is true but other things are cheaper in France so I'm not sure why it's relevant.

Ladybird69 · 01/12/2021 23:07

I’ve noticed this over the past few months. I used to spend £100 per week and had a full trolley (including pet food and cleaning products) and now I’m spending £150 on the same shopping and it’s only 3/4 full now! All packets aren’t quite full and lots of air and gaps in crisps. Plus lots of spices being cut out making things bland. Also lots of basic provisions are missing.
I went out to a local cafe today and had a huge jacket pot and filling and coffee for under £5 so for me it would probably be cheaper to eat out mostly. Goes against everything I’d thought that I’d do.

VeniVidiWeeWee · 02/12/2021 00:26

@Ladybird69

"I went out to a local cafe today and had a huge jacket pot and filling and coffee for under £5 so for me it would probably be cheaper to eat out mostl out mostly."

So, you've never bought a potato or coffee then?

TheBabyBoo · 02/12/2021 03:08

People have so little money left now after housing and transport that food even though historically cheap, has to be bought from a smaller and smaller pot.

GeorgiaGirl52 · 02/12/2021 03:41

The $6 salad I used to buy once a week as a treat for lunch is now up to $10.50 (and smaller) so it is now a monthly treat.
Was rotating some freezer items that were near the "use by" date. Four chicken quarters bought in July for $4.95/pound. The same type and amount bought this week was $8.98/pound. No longer even try to buy any beef!