Food is not expensive

[ragandbonewoman]

That is it really. I suppose I’m curious as to whether people agree or disagree with me. This follows a conversation I’ve just had with a friend where we disagreed on this point, but it’s something I’ve really noticed as things (life, not just food) have become more expensive. Lots and lots of people complaining that food is “so expensive” We are actually in the fortunate position of being able to spend less than the majority of the rest of the world (relative to our income) to follow a healthy diet.

Yes food has gone up. But (and I admit this is an anecdotal observation) food waste is prolific. I think we need to change our outlook. We should be prepared to pay more, especially for meat, to ensure that suppliers, farmers, animal welfare, are all getting a fair deal. I’ve always found it ridiculous that you can buy a whole chicken for £5! How?! And then people readily admit they throw half of it away.

Is this unreasonable? Food is important. People on the absolute breadline might have little choice, but for those that can take a little slack from elsewhere, they should. And stop complaining that you can’t get a tin of beans for 9p anymore! Stop throwing food in the bin because you feel like eating something else. Or AIBU?

My DC still eat yoghurt most days but I just get the basics plain one from Lidl and it's not expensive at all. They can mix a dollop of jam or lemon curd into it, or some frozen berries. Cheese is more expensive but even so the family blocks of cheddar (red packet, not the budget one, the next one up) from Lidl are fine and not too ££. Fresh fruit isn't too expensive if you go for stuff like apples/bananas/oranges and then only get other stuff when it's in season or on offer. We have a lot of frozen fruit though as it's far cheaper for stuff like berries.

Our food has been cheaper than many parts of the world for a long time so it has now got more expensive. People here are likely spending more on housing, utilities etc vs other countries so increased food costs hit pretty hard.

How much is your food shop OP ?

Are you have your daily 8 veg and fruit, 3 portions of calcium and weekly 30 different whole foods, fish twice a week and one of which is oily?

I particularly think eating healthy is expensive

Food in the UK is very cheap compared to many countries. Also there isn’t much more important than what we fuel our bodies with, so it being a fairly significant part of a budget doesn’t feel wrong - cheap food, especially meat, is rife with issues. But the rate at which prices have risen in the last few years is a problem, plus the lower wages we have in this country and the cost of living generally, as it means food prices haven’t risen in isolation.

We really struggle for food. The prices have gone up a lot over the last year or two. We regularly run out of things and cannot afford to top up, things like bread, milk, cheese.
We buy basic and cheap, cheap mince and a whole chicken each week, occasionally diced chicken.
Pasta, jacket potatoes, soup, salad.
Definitely don’t eat enough fruit, find it sooo expensive. We had raspberries earlier in the year from the garden and cherries from the tree. Got plums and pears growing now. Grew tomatoes and mangetout.
Do not buy treats such as chocolate, a couple of packets of biscuits for DH and son each week.
Rarely eat fish, have tuna a couple of times a week. When kids were young we loved salmon, it is too pricey now.
No ice cream, cake.
When our 4 kids lived at home and were young, I used to budget £40 a week for food! Now we are spending nearer £90 for three adults.

Food inflation has been crazy since 2020.

Food may have been cheap compared to other countries but wages have been stagnant and costs like rent/mortgage, council tax and utilities have risen loads so people can’t absorb this extra cost of food.

Food is expensive for those who buy in supermarkets because they cannot cook,

Seriously I just put a piece of ginger down in Sainsbury’s today £5.50.. when did ginger become a luxury item? We have reverted to freezer food here, chopped ginger.

Some pre packed sliced chicken is £5 a whole chicken is less. It is about making adjustments but I think is going a bit crazy when Tesco are reporting huge profits.

Food is cheap in the country both compared to other countries and compared to the proportion of household spend in the UK in the past. However the inflated costs of housing and childcare mean household budgets are squeezed very tight so any food budget increases are felt severely.

So you're not wrong to say we don't pay enough for food, but you are unreasonable to put it down to wasting food or blame them for complaining prices have gone up. People are really struggling, even if the primary reasons lie elsewhere.

Ginger isn’t in season until autumn, eating out of season is always going to be more expensive.

Food is expensive for those who buy in supermarkets because they cannot cook,

🙄

What did posters like this do with their time before MNs?

I think it really depends. I could buy chicken nuggets, chips and baked beans and feed the family for very little. I do, however, prefer to feed my family home cooked meals consisting of meats, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats (extra virgin olive oil, seeds, nuts) etc. The NHS now recommends 30 different plants a week in your diet. I have less disposable income due to the food costs rising, but I would much rather that than eat cheap, junk food every day.

Learn something new.. I thought I was from SE Asia and grew all year round?

I sort of agree with you Op. yes there’s no denying that food prices have gone up, that’s just a fact. But it can be cheap and healthy if a bit of thought goes into it. Bulk buying big bags of rice and pasta, fresh veg and cooking before it wastes and freezing in batches. Utilising frozen veg and fruit where possible. Using tins of tomatoes, lentils and pulses some fruit (yes I know that these still come under UPFs but not all UPFs are created equal, theres a big difference between these things and a pot noddle!) to reduce the amount of fresh wastage. All of this stuff is pretty cheap and great to bulk recipes therefore using less meat and being able to prioritise spend on better quality cuts of meat.

However the problem is people nowadays are time poor and it takes a lot of work to eat cheaply, healthy AND reduce waste. I totally admit to being a hypocrite here, I KNOW all of this but I still have a large shopping bill and a fair bit of food waste which I am trying hard to reduce.

Someone mentioned wage stagnation & inflation, 51k today is the equivalent to 40k in 2020 and don't forgot the frozen tax bands.

I pay more for higher quality food especially meat and dairy but offset that by making very budget meals like dals and bean chilli’s. If you are happy for your teens to drink gallons of milk (we would have been allowed a glass and no more) buy your toddler raspberries and strawberries out of season every week then it will be tricky. I also know people who would eat the breast an off a roast bird then bin it! We all need to make a few adjustments waste less, make some substitutions and ration the good stuff. But no we are British so we would rather have a fucking massive moan and blame someone else.

Where do you shop? I've never seen a chicken that's a fiver. I do think that you have to meal plan and stick to it.

It's all the incidentals that are expensive though, washing powder/pods, cleaning materials and loo roll.

I imagine if your wages haven't increased but many other aspects of life, food included, have then it's going to feel like food is expensive now.
However I've lived outside the UK for 15 years, and the cheap prices in the supermarkets here is something that always blows me away when I come to visit. And it still does even with the increased prices.

2 years ago my food shop was under £200 per week, the last year it’s been hard to keep it under £250, suddenly it’s £300 for the same foods (ordering “favourites” on Ocado app).

Is it “expensive” when you consider farming and realistic prices? Possibly not. Has it suddenly shot up and families like us are having to find £££ a month extra yes.

Of course it is. It's a fact food costs more not an opinion.

I don’t eat bland food, a little repetitive perhaps. This makes it easier as I stick to meals all
five of us like

I can’t understand what that even means? Supermarkets sell ingredients… are we supposed to grow our own veg 🤔

Food is very cheap in UK compared to Europe

Food is expensive
Farmers are poor
Supermarkets have low profit margins.

I don’t see how all of those statements can be true, so you are probably correct.

Sadly that won’t change the fact that many can’t afford to pay more.