Is food suddenly loads more expensive? Why?

[niketrainersarecomfy]

Ok. Panicking if it continues.
Just been to the local shop for tinned tuna and couldnt get it below 2 pounds. Corned beef 2. 50.
These were once cheap options for sandwiches. Now i see them as protein to be saved for an evening meal, and for sandwiches to be made from paste, marmite, soft cheese etc.
I have noticed my usual bread rolls go from 90p to 1.10.
Milk stayed the same. Squash much more money.
Is it just me? Yes i could have gone to aldi and not the corner shop but even so.
I honestly dont see how places like tesco are going to stay open if this continues, nor how anyone could afford to fill a trolley for the weeks shop.
Is it just me or is food becoming too expensive? Thats before tv license, water, petrol getting dearer each year.
How are we supposed to manage when wages dont rise at the rate of inflation?

Nematodes keep down slugs and snails.
My garden (inc raised beds) is/was slug and snail central. Not now.
Actually need to order some more. Little feckers.

You don't need a garden to grow food. Tomatoes, spinach/lettuce potatoes all do well in containers. I know because I had them for years before I had a garden. I particularly like these so it's what I had.

You may not need a garden but outside space certainly helps. Also lugging sufficient compost to fill containers gets tedious.

Don’t get me wrong I’ve grown all sorts of veg in containers but it’s a supplement and because it’s lovely to grow your own new pots, lettuce and herbs are cheap and easy. But growing enough food to act as a serious supplement isn’t easy.

I think the thing that irritates me most about these conversations is the way we are talking about turning to what for most people is a hobby - ie something fun specifically BECAUSE poor outcomes can be shrugged off rather than cause actual hardship - because of government and market cock-ups.

Food production is not dissimilar to clothing production in that these days, industrial scale methods and JIT distribution have resulted in greater quantity and levels of quality at varying (and therefore accessible) price points than ever before. For people at the lower end of the prices, there is more food and more types of clothes available than ever before. Even for people at mid-price point, it's impossible to produce food or clothes for yourself at anything like the cost of buying.

I sew, cook and garden, and cooking is the only thing I do that I can still do cheaper than buying in, and that's mainly because it cuts down on food waste and adds value because I can ensure we eat more healthily than we would if we bought in. Sewing - not a chance. The cloth alone is more than the cost of an entire dress in a mid-price shop. Gardening - ditto. When I add in my own labour costs (ie, time taken out of work to put into my hobbies), then I absolutely cannot afford to grow MOST of my own veg, or sew most of my own clothes, or make all my own jam/tinned veg.

Productivity has gone up in industrialised nations BECAUSE people stopped having to spend most of their time labouring to feed and cloth themselves and their children from scratch all day, every day. That's what prosperity IS.

The fact that anyone thinks that the simple answer to rising food prices is to DYI beggars belief, frankly.

Nobody is saying there is any simple answer. Its a complete nightmare for those who are already struggling. But we are saying that given the nightmare situation it could help a little.

Its all very well sitting there and saying "Its a bigger problem - the country is going to the dogs" but we can't change food prices so why wouldn't those of us who have the space try to find a practical way to help with the issue.

True cloudtree, but my point is that it isn't just about space, it's about time and value of work as well. If people like me give up their jobs in IT (or if healthcare professionals spend less time working and more time growing veg), the overall impact on the country is not great. It's a false economy.

I am thinking that there needs to be a bit of letter-writing to MPs asking what the government is planning to DO to protect people from this. It's up to them to press for implementable solutions that work for the country. Accepting that the country is "going to the dogs" can't possibly help.

Really not suggesting anyone gives up work to grow veg. Of course not. That would be ridiculous. But if we do have serious supply chain issues come March (and significant general price increases beyond that) then it may become something that it is necessary or helpful to do outside of work.

I work full time in a very full on job. So does DH. Its not a question of working out whether I earn more money working than I would do growing food. Its about growing food in addition.

I am however significantly less optimistic about the ability of people to get through this mess than I was before I started commenting on this thread.

I don’t think anybody would need to give up work to grow a bit of spinach, some potatoes and tomatoes, which would greatly supplement a family’s diet.

I don’t think anybody would need to give up work to grow a bit of spinach, some potatoes and tomatoes, which would greatly supplement a family’s diet.

Precisely

Also, I think growing your own food makes you think more about waste. Given that we throw away something ridiculous like 25% of the food we buy, if prices do soar, that will be the first area of savings. Eating everything we buy or grow.

We throw away very little but what we do throw away is then also turned into eggs by feeding it to the chickens.

I will readily admit though that keeping chickens is (currently) an expensive way to get eggs (although, in the future, not necessarily if the prices rise)

I’ve had raised beds. Slugs still love them. A lot.

Nematodes cost money! And is an expensive deterrent. Best thing is actually going out and getting them at night

Anyway I digress. It isn’t actually that easy for many people to grow veg be it from lack of knowledge or space etc.

Exactly as @PineappleSunrise says. We have a big problem in this country, and the do-gooders just shrugging off peoples genuine problems and barriers, suggesting that they just grow a bit of veg is a distraction and nonsense from the bigger picture. By all means grow vegetables. But it won’t solve the problem we have with the rich getting incredibly rich at the expense of everyone else.

Mmm. Apparently "growing a bit of veg" next March is going to be easier than complaining to your MP right now. Mustn't grumble, eh?

Don't want to get a couple of containers and have a go, Brexit or no? Meh. Do what you like.

Complain away. I'm not sure an easy solution is there for the taking and personally I'm not prepared to just sit back and hope that it will get sorted. I'm pretty sure the government already knows there are a heck of a lot of pissed off people out there.

As bellini says - if you don't want to then don't. Up to you. But those of us who are taking practical steps will be in a better position.

Now you and bellini are making assumptions. I do grow veg, which I've already said above. (More than a few containers, even.) I am making the point that growing a bit of veg is only going to go so far if there is a prolonged breakdown in supply chains.

It's like stockpiling (and I am not at all against having extra food in). For 3 days, or a couple of weeks, most people can keep a few extra tins around. Longer than that and things are looking distinctly dodgy.

I am NOT telling people not to be worried about next year. But I am not at all convinced that make do and mend is going go very far.

I think my point is I don't want to make do and mend. I like the supply chains we have and importing veg from Spain ....

I like using peppers in winter and not having to eat brassicas which is mostly what is available in season. I like a beetroot and a turnip and a cabbage - but I also like peppers and aubergines and chillis.

Nematodes cost money!

Fucking hell, are we still stuck on rubbishing everything and anything?!?!

Great attitude. Can't do it. Won't do it.

Can any of the gardeners on here tell me how to get rid of the 1000+ slugs and snails in my garden? I think I would feel too bad if I committed a mass extermination just so my basil plant can live.

I commit a mass extermination every now and again. It is awful but needs to be done.

I don't have many slugs but I do have millions and millions of snails. I gather them up and smash them between a brick and a paving slap. It is instant death and the 'kindest' way I think.

I think my point is I don't want to make do and mend. I like the supply chains we have and importing veg from Spain ....

That is totally cool to like it, you just have to pay for it :-)

@PineappleSunrise -it's good that you grow some stuff for yourself for no other reason than .... it's good. Stuff you grow yourself tastes nice. And kids can get involved.
I genuinely don't care whether you do or don't and whether you want to do more or don't.
It's nice not to have to make do and mend. It's nice to be able to if you have to.

@PineappleSunrise - I'm a prepper. I've advised people to go for 3days because anything more freaks them out. I'm at the "do what you want, just don't come whining to me" stage.
I grow a bit, I preserve food etc etc. If it gets bad, and I doubt it will get really bad - just expensive- I can take care of us here for a bit.

We all like the supply chains we currently have and the variety we currently have and it is pretty cool to be able to eat strawberries in the depths of winter etc. However the decision taken by the majority was that we want life a different way. Whilst I personally think that it was a dreadful outcome for us as a country and that there's a good chance we will be facing recession, I can't change it.

I will not however sit back and let my family be affected any more than they absolutely have to be. There is only a certain extent to which I can chuck money at the problem (and I am very lucky that I currently have some ability to do that). Longer term I have to accept that things might be difficult. As such, I'm doing everything I can to look out for my lot and if that means a degree of 'make do and mend' then that's what I will do.

Personally I hate fucking courgettes but they're good for the children, will bulk out a meal and they are very simple to grow.

@bellinisurge I know you're a prepper. We've discussed being prepared previously on other threads. Why you're now interpreting my concerns about mass gardening to overcome long term structural food shortages as me refusing to garden or prep, I am not entirely clear.

My apologies @PineappleSunrise .