To be appalled at the cost of food?

[pinotnow]

I know this has been done to death and we are in a cost of living crisis, but listening to the news they are intimating that it is slowly levelling out and the worst is over. Yes as far as I can see it's spiralling out of control.

I did a Lidl shop this weekend and bought absolutely nothing for main meals as I have a Hello Fresh box for three days coming, boys are going to their dad's for the weekend on Thursday and I have store cupboard stuff in already.

Therefore all I bought was stuff for lunch boxes, snacks, fruit and breakfast cereal. No cleaning stuff, oil or pet food needed this week and one bottle of wine. I thought it would be a bit less than I usually pay (only the second time I've used Hello Fresh) and certainly the trolley wasn't as full.

It came to £78!! Maybe £5 or so less than I have usually paid lately. It's out of control. How on earth are people supposed to manage and when will it stop going up all the bloody time?

Name change fail?

Anyway, as well as higher wages, they pay less for fuel, a lot less, including petrol and energy. And lower taxation too.

When you make these comparisons, you can’t pick one selective area of cost and ignore the rest.

I hope you're joking. Given your posts that I've seen recently I suspect you aren't.

@FrenchandSaunders I am a bit tired the actual food was shared between 3 adults.

You clearly do care because you keep trying to defend your immoral choices and deflect onto others, plus claiming you have to choose between feeding your family and buying factory-farmed animal products. You're not convincing yourself, let alone anyone else.

Very true! Not even in a major city on the East Coast its $2.50 for an iceberg lettuce, $2 for a kilo of carrots. The cheapest bag of chicken nuggets is around $9 on offer

I went to the US last year and I was shocked at the price of food. I shopped at Walmart and Publix so not traderjoes . Fresh healthy food was so much more expensive and not as good quality. My personal wage would be easily double what I earn over there. . I guess it's not easier for people on the breadline though min wage is less than uk in the US.

Thank you for putting things into perspective. I don't think that UK residents had any idea how comparitively cheap food prices were here, so clearly now they're feeling the pinch.
We will just have to learn to buy less and better rather than the ultra processed rubbish we've been buying for ease.
Buy porridge and make some flapjacks for snacks; cut chunks of cheese rather than Baby bel. Kids will have to learn money doesn't grow on trees and take sandwiches and an apple for lunch.

In 2020, food shopping was quite luxurious, strawberries, raspberries, always black grapes and blueberries, always a bunch of bananas, decent quality dark chocolate.
Several packs of cod, chicken, always 3 or 4 steaks. Plenty of tenderstem brocolli.

I don't buy any of that now, except for chicken and even that is seeming very expensive.

Shopping in 2020 was always £75/85 a week in aldi.
Now I'd spend £100 on 4 days of shopping. TBF I'm now buying baby food pouches which cost a fair whack but the trolley loads of really nice food are a far cry from what we live off now. Cucumbers about as fancy as we get now.

@PurpleWisteria1 food in America is actually the cheapest in the world comparative to income, Britain has been the second cheapest (according to USDA data).

Food prices in Britain as a percentage of income has fallen by a half since 1960, we are used to incredibly cheap food. Food prices in Britain seems to be correcting more in line with the European average.

Couldn't agree more OP! I'm I'm the states and did a very similar shop to you yesterday about 75 usd. Double what I would have paid last year

wow ! Interesting article. That’s a huge difference
I’m also really shocked at the daily calories of 3300 on average

Have just had a look at the uk Govn website
Heres some interesting charts
re last 10year food price changes and % of household spend on food

I find my local butcher has much better meat and ‘bundle’ deals - it also has free range eggs at £1.00 a dozen. This is an extract from their menu - I buy here and just get basics from the supermarkets to keep costs down.

This was bound to happen at some point. We’ve had ridiculously cheap food for years and as a result the farming industry is on its knees. What farmers receive for produce is absolutely criminal. The only farmers doing well at this point are large scale more intensive operations, all driven by the public’s obsession with buying cheap. The small scale farmer who uses more traditional ways of working just can’t afford to operate anymore.

I remember not that long ago that farmers were receiving around 18p per litre for milk, as an example. How can anyone survive on that?!

They won’t be receiving more now- any potential profits in produce sold that’s been passed on by supermarkets is vastly outweighed by increases in other expenses- feed, veterinary care, insurance, fuel, etc.

We should have been paying much more for a long long time, but the industry is damaged upon repair. The future is now and there won’t be any going back to the years of criminally cheap food.

Unfortunately no one cared while they were getting a bargain, and now everyone is in the situation that smaller scale farmers have been dealing with for the last 20 years. How it feels to work for 365 days a year pouring your heart and soul into your livelihood to be offered pennies for it, and still expected to survive.

This just isn't true . I live in a very WC area and generally shop at Morrisons. At least 50% of the eggs are free range, suggesting that is what most people want. We are veggi so can't comment on the meat options.

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dd informs me that tomatoes cost £5 in south korea
and i moan that they have gone up to £1.10 in Tesco!

@Neurodiversitydoctor i assumed the PP meant free range by ‘bog standard eggs’, as I hardly ever see anyone buying battery eggs and we shop in Aldi and Lidl that
only have one type of caged variety but loads of free range.

Aldi caged hens 13p / egg
Aldi free range happy chickens 17p / egg
I think based on those stats it’s fairly obvious the free range is the most popular choice.

stats on egg consumption in the uk

Believe there is plenty of food price (and price if everything else) inflation here in Australia as well. I can relate to everything on this thread.

I was surprised to see the cost of a Lidl shop. I spend 40 -50 a week at Waitrose, I know that's a more expensive shop but I have got into a routine with my meal planning since being diagnosed with diabetes so get the same each week

For my money I get 7 small pots of Greek yoghurt (Kri Kri)
4 berry medleys (strawberry's, raspberries, grapes, blueberries) (230g prepared fruit - this is the one thing that has increased but I use the little pot as my bowl and just pour the yoghurt on each morning for breakfast and know the carbs etc_)
Frozen cherries
Porridge oats
85% Dark Chocolate
4 chicken breasts
Cherry tomatoes
Lettuce
Cucumber
beetroot
red pepper
Onion
2 x Thrive meals (healthy/lazy cheat)
Sprouts
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Carrots
Cheese slices
eggs
Milk
Benecol

I get this every week, maybe a slight variation, so sometimes I get soup or vegan sausages etc) I don't buy bread, pasta, rice or potatoes anymore and only have breakfast and lunch each day to help my weight loss (low carb and Intermittent fasting) so my food shop would probably be a lot more if I had dinner as well, plus if I wasn't diabetic I would have other treats and wine, this is just for me though, my DD and her BF get their own food as they dont like the same food.

I suppose if you add on cleaning products, toilet rolls etc the cost of food etc for 1 person is 250 a month. I always assumed Lidil would be a lot cheaper than Waitrose

Same, and I think most people feel the same way judging by the number of times that I've seen every other type of egg sold out, even the more expensive in a CoL crisis, but cage eggs left.

You have listed enough food for about 1,000 calories a day. I have to buy 10 X that amount (1800 for me, 2500 for DH and Dd, 3200 for DS). Scaled up your shop would be £400. Those are expensive calories.

Definitely worth it if you shop their regularly

All the free range ones have been stuck inside for ages anyway due to bird flu. So it's all much the same?

What about if they just give you one? Do you want us to turn it down?