Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Can you easily absorb a 20% rise in your grocery bill?

418 replies

AbsentmindedWoman · 20/10/2020 21:15

I am worried about this, predicted to come early next year. I moved abroad last year but have people I love in the UK, some are budgeting very tightly already, and there's nothing I can suggest when they are worried.

I find it really troubling. Surely this is going to be the straw that breaks the camel's back for quite a few people who are coping with limited money? It could mean the difference between being able to get by and being stuck?

Would a 20% increase in food prices be difficult for you, or just a pain in the arse?

Is there any way a price hike can be avoided?

OP posts:
ListeningQuietly · 22/10/2020 14:52

Well you have absolutely loads then
Look at my list and tell me what to have for breakfast out of it?

Leeks - yes I have about 200 in the ground. They will last me till mid March on the basis or two or three meals a week.
Kale ditto
Pak choi - enough for about 6 meals (as it stops growing in winter)
Chard - about 20 meals (same reason)

There are a LOT of meals to fill between now and the first harvests next spring

Hence why I have a stockpile of tinned tomatoes and frozen veg to make up the gaps - and the gaps are VERY big

Janevaljane · 22/10/2020 15:25

Breakfast? I'm talking about veg. It's a vegetable patch.

I didn't mean I can feed my entire family every single meal from it 😅 I meant that I barely have to buy veg or fruit

Janevaljane · 22/10/2020 15:28

Ill have purple sprouting in feb/march, spring greens, swedes, parsnips.

DTIsOnlyForNow · 22/10/2020 15:32

I meant that I barely have to buy veg or fruit

You said that you were self sufficient for fruit and veg, You aren't

Janevaljane · 22/10/2020 15:34

You said that you were self sufficient for fruit and veg, You aren't

I am! And have been for years and years. I buy frozen peas and that's about it. So are lots of people I know (rural). You are being weird about it.

kowari · 22/10/2020 15:48

And what about those who are currently vegetarian or vegan? They have nothing they can cut back on. I was only commenting on what I would do, I'm not vegetarian. It's not just meat we will have to cut back on though, as we don't eat a lot as it is, it will be other more expensive foods we buy too, such as prepackaged falafel.

Unicorners · 22/10/2020 15:51

We can manage it if we have to, we won't go hungry but it will mean less variety and cheaper quality.

nibdedibble · 22/10/2020 15:54

Janevaljane (I like your name) Your first post did suggest you were feeding yourselves entirely from your garden. Anyway, you must have excellent soil!

Janevaljane · 22/10/2020 16:03

Your first post did suggest you were feeding yourselves entirely from your garden

Did it 😆 sorry, I do actually shop. I meant fruit and veg - we could technically be self sufficient in fruit and veg if we had to.

Janevaljane · 22/10/2020 16:04

I have horses so a ready supply of muck!

DTIsOnlyForNow · 22/10/2020 16:45

I am! And have been for years and years. I buy frozen peas and that's about it

You buy potatoes, which arguably are the most imprtant vegetable, so how are you exactly?

feelingverylazytoday · 22/10/2020 16:48

Not easily, no. I will probably cut down on portion sizes and treats to compensate.

sunstreaming · 22/10/2020 17:38

I can't understand why people say that because they now eat all their meals at home, their food bills have gone up. Were they getting their lunches at work and school for free? If not, then the cost of shopping brought into the home would go up, but at the same time, the cost of food bought outside the home would go down. Illogical statements don't help.

sunstreaming · 22/10/2020 17:48

I mean, prices have gone up which has caused food bills to rise (and they'll go up even more next year) but eatung at home rather than outside the home doesn't increase your overall spending on food. In fact, if you're making snadwiches, using letovers from the previous day etc, this in itself is probably cheaper tha buying a snack or a sandwich.

ListeningQuietly · 22/10/2020 17:54

sunstreaming
Over a million children in England and Wales get free school meals.

Many people work in places with canteens that have economies of scale in catering

Cooking for 50 costs less per head than cooking for 4

TracyBeakerSoYeah · 22/10/2020 18:31

My DH did get free lunch at work but they're not providing that at the moment.
My DC when they've been at home are not getting their lunch at school. (although we are not on free school meals the school canteen is cheap due to economies of scale) & they are also eating me out of house & home as things are being eaten quicker.

pointythings · 22/10/2020 22:02

Janevaljane so you live rurally and you have land and horses. That's great. Now tell someone living in an urban high rise with no balcony to do the same thing on minimum wage and cope with a 20% rise in food prices. Can you do that and keep a straight face?

Janevaljane · 22/10/2020 23:11

I did say OBVIOUSLY not everyone can do it.

The q was can you absorb 20% on your grocery bill. My answer was yes because we are amost self sufficient in veg, which was massively controversial for some weird reason.

SonjaMorgan · 22/10/2020 23:49

It was obvious that @Janevaljane was talking about her own food budget, I don't know why posters are picking apart all of her posts. Some will turn to growing some veg, even if it is just a few tubs of potatoes. It won't be a solution but it also won't add to the problem.

kowari · 23/10/2020 07:27

Yes, the question was Can you easily absorb a 20% rise in your grocery bill? People are going to answer according to their own circumstances. I wouldn't have managed when we were poor as there was nothing much to cut. Working full time on £10 an hour and I think I could manage to feed my teenager and myself if prices were to rise now.

Janevaljane · 23/10/2020 08:30

I think the answer to the OPs question was supposed to be "No, we'll starve". Anything other than that is fair game.

pointythings · 23/10/2020 08:56

I think the key takeaway is that a lot of people will not be able to absorb a 20% rise in food costs. Instead of thinking 'I'm all right, Jack', perhaps we should all be concerned about that.

Sostenueto · 23/10/2020 09:32

My DD on Frontline as a carer gets £8 an hour. She's trying to feed herself on what's left of her wages after rent utilities council tax etc on £15 a week. Any suggestions how she does that without my help or using foodbanks? She works full time bikes 120 miles a week has to buy clothes shoes for work etc out of that £15 too. She neither smokes or drinks or goes out. Lovely life for a Frontline worker don't u think? I'm glad most on here can absorb a 20% rise in food costs but please spare a thought to those that can't and perhaps ba neighbour down the road would like some free veg from your vegetable patches. I grew outdoor tomatoes and cucumbers this year on my tiny patio. Every single one of my neighbours shared in my bounty. All OAPs or disabled. And for free. There are many out there like my DD share yr good fortune I'm sure many would appreciate it.xx

Xenia · 23/10/2020 10:43

Yes, it's fine. In fact most people in the UK need to eat a lot less, do intermittent fasting, only eat lunch and dinner and no snacks, only drink tap water. the biggest challenge for the NHS is people eating loads of junk foods and loads of healthy foods but to such an extent they are very over weight.

Save the NHS and eat a lot less.

kowari · 23/10/2020 10:44

@pointythings

I think the key takeaway is that a lot of people will not be able to absorb a 20% rise in food costs. Instead of thinking 'I'm all right, Jack', perhaps we should all be concerned about that.
I didn't vote leave. I've never voted Tory. I don't have a huge income but buy a few things for the foodbank collection when in Tesco rather than Aldi. I'm not sure what the average person can do?