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

[AbsentmindedWoman]

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?

Nope. :(
But I'm fat so no doubt will survive by skipping meals so dc can eat. Although my mental health suffers massively when I'm hungry!

@Elsewyre

"What sort of fruit is seasonal in the UK in January to April?"

What's in season January to April in the rest of Europe?

That's surely an egypt/Argentine importing season?

Brexit will affect all food imports if there are delays at customs causing general food shortages and price increases.

And the answer to the question of what fruit is in season, it's basically just apples. @LittleLapwing has listed above some fruits which can be preserved or frozen, but fresh fruit will be basically none if we are expected to eat in season.

Well Leave voters are just going to have to put up with me moaning on for years. Stupid fuckers.

That attitude is hurting you, and no one else. Think about it 💐

We would have been able to, but not with high earner DH made redundant due to Covid. We spend too much on food shopping anyway (previous family income meant we didn’t need to be particularly careful) so could certainly cut back to the basics to reduce the price rise thankfully

That’s why I have been prepping from first brexit Cameron announcements

@Anchoredowninanchorage

That’s why I have been prepping from first brexit Cameron announcements

Aye. Although the pandemic panic buying was a decent dry run for the real shit that's coming. A few tweaks and we're good to go.

I'm sure people can get an online delivery though, it's just scare mongering, like earlier on in the year.

If I had to, yes. I spend £50 a week, so an extra £10.

I'm trying to reduce the amount of meat we eat so some of any increase should get cancelled out. Although I haven't seen food prices rise at all yet.

If We gave up on meat we’d manage it, but it would be pretty slim pickings.

The thing is, I've put stuff by to insulate us a bit in the first weeks and months. We would be adequately fed, though it might be a bit dull at times, and we'd supplement with whatever fresh things we could afford. But we can't go on forever. I haven't got a bunker with room for years of food or a garden big enough to grow all my fruit and veg or, unfortunately, the climate to have much fresh at all in December.

Yes, we have some winter veg. People used to salad and strawberries in December are going to find it quite difficult to get used to only having cabbage and root veg for months at a time unless paying through the nose. And that's supposing we can get any of this British veg - as we don't currently produce enough of it, how are we all going to get hold of enough to keep us healthy?

I suppose we could all have been bottling blackberries like billy-oh this summer but if that is genuinely what people are going to need to do to have fruit in winter, it seems like the government should have warned people. It is, after all, not something you can go and do with five minutes notice. There is a rather significant lead time.

I think it's a mess. And I think there will be some type of civil unrest come January.

We already have, but another 20% hike will make things tight. My boys are coming up to teenage years and I swear they don't stop eating. I'm trying to alter our menus to reduce our meat intake.

Meat should get much cheaper though, in the short term at least.

Eg, most British lamb is exported to the EU. If we don’t have a deal there will be a huge tariff imposed on the import and export sales will plummet, as will prices.

Unless government subsidises the sheep farmers some of them will be driven out of business. But lamb and beef will be cheap. As will salmon.

Not sure cutting down on meat consumption will be the answer if we have a No Deal Brexit.

I am lucky to say yes, we could pay an extra 20% on food, but it doesn't mean I like it, and that I am happy about it. I did't vote for this shit.

... a lot of people won't be able to afford it though And they didn't vote for this either

Yes I could absorb this, I'd need to do a bit of penny pinching and be more careful RE meal prep and planning more carefully. This would probably be good for me and better environmentally.
However, I'm more concerned about the wider impact. A 20% rise would mean donations to food banks plummet at a time when demand is rising massively. Many people will tip over from coping to not coping. It's a mess and completely avoidable and unnecessary which makes me cross!!

British fruit between Jan & April, apples and rhubarb, plus bottled blackberries, damsons and plums.

One of the benefits of losing my job is I've had time to bottle everything I could lay my hands on. Plus the greenhouse is already cleared, disinfected and planted with strawberries for next year.

Off topic but what can you do with blackberries and damsons apart from jams? I get powerful cravings for damson jelly generously spread on buttered doorsteps of toast...

Rhubarb and apple crumbles and pies are delicious and hearty wintery puds.

Now I'm really hungry!

We can afford it but I feel sorry for others. I have been reading about global food shortages and I am concerned that the bigger picture is not being focused on due to covid. China have been taking steps to reduce food consumption/wastage and then some areas of Africa are predicted a drought after covid, locusts and flooding.

Honestly, on my current income, not really sure how I'd cope. I meal plan extremely carefully and am already very careful with what I buy and how I spend, all my outgoings are absolute essentials, so really electric/gas, water and food are the only things I can cut back on. It's going to have to be fine (and when I graduate in May I should have a higher income and most of my debt will be paid off so generally be in a better position) but obviously I will feed DS before myself if it comes to that, or feed him the better meals and eat crap myself which is shit after working so hard to lose 5st+ but if it comes to that then it does. And yes, I voted remain.

We’d look to flex between potatoes vs pasta vs rice. Pork vs chicken vs beef. Red wine vs cider, etc, etc. Across the board food inflation, we would have to absorb.

We could, luckily.
I’m more concerned about the lack of variety that will be available.

I find fruit that's out of season is tasteless. I never buy strawberries, peaches etc in winter that have been imported, would rather wait until the British season. I always stock up on tinned fruit for the winter.

Not sure cutting down on meat consumption will be the answer if we have a No Deal Brexit.

I will be doing so not only for cost but because I fear for accurate labelling of products and I do not want to buy intensively farmed meat no matter how cheap. I would prefer to eat beans and lentils (which are also cheap, luckily).

We live abroad and have already seen an increase in food prices. Yes, we can handle it - but know there are others that simply can't.

Which leads to poorer nutrition, poorer health, more stress on health services etc etc

In the U.K. we could yes as I find food cheaper there. Where we live now it would sting but we’d manage or clip coupons

Yes, but only by making significant changes to the quality and variety of food we eat.

@ListeningQuietly

Elsewyre What's in season January to April in the rest of Europe? Have you never been to Crete or southern Spain or Italy ? You really need to look at food labels a LOT more

I don't see many labels with "Spain" or "Italy" on them. More commonly "Morocco", "Costa Rica" etc.