15% of households skipped meals last month because they couldn't afford to buy enough food

[cakeorwine]

‘Health emergency’: 15% of UK households went hungry last month, data shows | Food poverty | The Guardian

"Millions of people – including one in five families with children – have gone hungry or skipped meals in recent weeks because they could not regularly afford to buy groceries, according to new food insecurity data.
According to the Food Foundation tracker, 15% of UK households – equivalent to approximately 8 million adults and 3 million children – experienced food insecurity in January, as high food prices continued to hit the pockets of low-income families.

Expects warned the persistence of high levels of food insecurity among low-income families was a “health emergency” that would drive the prevalence of conditions linked to poor nutrition, such as malnutrition and rickets.
Nearly two-thirds (60%) of food-insecure households reported buying less fruit and 44% bought fewer vegetables as they struggled with the ongoing cost of living crisis. By contrast, just 11% of food-secure households bought less fruit and 6% purchased fewer vegetables"

This is awful data - and something that should be being talked about. Being in work does not protect you from this. Life is just very expensive for some people - and costs are still going up.

is your search engine broken? Or just your manners?

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=iceland+offers&sca_esv=f5ffd29b8bf133f7&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ACQVn09TgroREel_tzTrzUMXLRzjvc4ptQ%3A1709148772600&source=hp&ei=ZIrfZeaYELKRhbIP8Ymf0AQ&iflsig=ANes7DEAAAAAZd-YdPbrA6hjX96kQgaBqaXb1SPsmrMo&oq=iceland+offers&gs_lp=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&sclient=gws-wiz

None of that is cheap it’s all over £3.

There's literally a tab on the offers page labeled £1 or less

Fresh fruit and vegetables

Quoted wrong post!

.

https://www.iceland.co.uk/1-or-less?_gl=11uq1add_up*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiA0PuuBhBsEiwAS7fsNTlwcMjoI_RroxY0xbdydQCeayzzW3TjtS9uaRzqz2zyWcUq3uV76RoCZHQQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

There's an amazing number of MN posters who work in foodbanks/know someone who runs one/ have visited one and ,therefore , have apparent expertise in the matter.

I struggle to believe anyone who operates a foodbank could gossip, bitch or denigrate those living in enough poverty that they have the vouchers to use food banks. Certainly anyone who was anything to do with the Trussell Trust who publicly accused users of playing the system would not be long in post.

I agree, seems a bit unlikely.

Equally, some posters really would benefit from a stint at charm school!

I'm still eagerly awaiting to know if the family of 4 on £163 for food a week, oops I mean £63 pounds of sweet potatoes and lentils have this for breakfast and lunch!

You know what, I’ve been totally upfront and honest on this thread, I’ve pasted a typical food shop, been accurate about how much it costs, shown my weekly menu, been open (and ridiculed) about my family’s eating habits.

So, why don’t you expose yourselves? Show me what you buy every week, tell me what meals you made and how much it all cost. Go on.

But we are not the ones saying we can do breakfast lunch and dinner for two adults and two children for £63 a week. What is it you want us to prove?

Your menu is not too different to ours @Naptrappedmummy .

Nuggets and potato smiles are not a cheap way to feed kids. It is cheaper to buy real chicken and real potatoes. Beans and lentils are pretty much necessary if you want to eat cheaply and healthily.

My kids eat at school/nursery 5 days a week, same as everyone else’s. At the weekend it’s not hard to imagine, omelettes, bagels, fruit, sandwiches, whatever.

Now go ahead and post yours, let’s see your idea of how much ‘eating well’ costs and the foodstuffs involved.

I agree. It’s effort, yes, and takes a little planning ahead (roughly 5 minutes to check the kitchen and figure out what to have) but seriously if you can’t do that then you’re barely an adult. There always seems to be an excuse as to why adults can’t do the most basic things on here; why they need an extreme level of handholding and why ‘the government’ should micromanage their lives.

Deep down it’s an odd mentality of ‘people should be able to have whatever they want whenever they want because if you disagree you want them to STARVE’.

Like the fucking ridiculous £7 butter mentioned upthread. Did they even say where they saw that outside of an artisan deli in London somewhere?

Any five for £5 isn’t cheap? Seriously?

Like the fucking ridiculous £7 butter mentioned upthread. Did they even say where they saw that outside of an artisan deli in London somewhere?

Ocado and Tesco. No artisan deli would give Lurpak shelf space.

I can't do it for £50 per week for a family of four. IDK how much our grocery shopping costs as I tend to order online from multiple places but this week's meals consist of

Mince, dumplings, garlic mash with broccoli and carrots, and "plum stuff" for dessert.

Chicken and salad wraps made with Iceland southern fried chicken strips and jelly, fruit, and cream for dessert.

Chillie con carne with rice.

Salmon, new potatoes in mint and butter sauce, and broccoli (sausages for DD2 who doesn't eat fish)

Chicken and veg curry with rice

Cheese and broccoli pasta with garlic baguette

Whatever is in the freezer for the other day - probably pizza for the kids/teenagers and chili cheese nuggets for me.

We have freezer stuff in for lunches (Iceland pizza subs, chicken nuggets, potato waffles) or tuna, bacon, ham, or garlic sausage for sarnies or tins of soup and bread. There are also some maggi noodles.

We have cereal, eggs, or beans in for breakfast stuff and fruit (grapes, blueberries, tangerines), yoghurts and crisps in for snacks.

If the ultra rich were properly taxed we wouldn’t have this problem.

Lurpak has always been crazy expensive that’s why I don’t buy it. Luckily there are many other brands of cheaper butter available so there’s no need for this odd hysteria over this one product.

If you don’t know how much it costs then posting all that is redundant. I did my online shop today and it was £70 including pork joint, a salmon side, a whole chicken, conditioner for me and Persil washing liquid.

Of course we would because the majority of people in this country don't want to pay for decent quality food. That comes way down on their list of priorities. No one wants to take responsibility for their decisions. They tie themselves into expensive contracts for non essential items without a thought for how they will continue to pay for it if they become ill or lose their job.

I'm not claiming to be able to feed a family for less than £50 a week. I know I can't.

My recent online/local shops came to £66 at Morrison's via Prime. £64 at Iceland online, £23 at the local grocer, £35 at Millie's Wolfheart, and £9 at the local dog boutique. That's enough to feed me and the kids for a week with plenty left over in the freezer for the end of the month when we might find ourselves short and the dog for a fortnight.

Next week's shop will be cheaper because I won't fill the freezer.

Or pets...

It's from Sainsbury's.