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?

I dont feel the pinch like others do but i am single and no children to worry over.

Before covid I used to spend £80-£90 per week for 4 adults. I am now spending £130 most weeks and that is for 3 adults. I think prices have gone up massively.

The last piece of ginger I bought was 16p in Tesco....

It can be cheap.
Tesco

Own brand pasta 500g 41p
Tin of tomatoes 45p
Own brand cornflakes 88p
Pack of 6 apples 69p
Loaf of bread 55p
Etc etc
If you get the cheapest of everything and dont have a varied diet you can eat for very little. If thats all someone can afford then that's what they have to do.

@reversegear It’s £5.50 per kg

🤣😂

It depends which parts of Europe you mean. As someone who lives half the year in the UK and half in Spain, I'm taken aback every time by the prices in British supermarkets. The UK is generally very expensive, with high energy and property costs feeding into so many areas of life.

No, you are not offensive by starting this thread.
We are all different.
I don't shop in Waitrose, neither do I earn 6 figures, but myself and my husband are fortunate and don't have to check the prices.
He does it more out of principle. Whole chicken for five pounds doesn't seem expensive to me.
No kids by choice, income through property portfolio.

It’s definitely gone up but I don’t feel it’s too bad. Prices seem to have settled.

Just how stupid are you?

I agree with you OP. In the 50s and 60s food was approximately 33% of your income. Now it's 10 to 15%. Food is much cheaper now in relation to income than it's ever been.

Aldi extra large chicken is £5.50. It feeds us 2 adults 2 teens a roast dinner plus,enough meat for a curry or stir fry.

But I spend easily £100+ a week on food for 5 of us (one veggie) even though I shop carefully so I do find food expensive.

Aldi extra large chicken is £5.50. It feeds us 2 adults 2 teens a roast dinner plus,enough meat for a curry or stir fry.

But I spend easily £100+ a week on food for 5 of us (one veggie) even though I shop carefully so I do find food expensive.

Ginger is only pennies for a decent sized chunk. Learn to read pricing labels!

Only 2 meals???

You’re letting us down there. Surely one chicken can last a family the whole week?!

I agree, basic food isn't expensive. I can feed 3-4 adults on £80 - £100 p/w - that's nice fresh ingredients, including some organic things!
But to benefit from the good quality & nutritious cheap food you need 2 things: time & cooking skills. The 3rd is, beeing prepared to have 4-6 veggie or vegan days/ week, because decent meat is very expensive.

8 fruit and veg? Since when? It’s always been five.

Food is cheap in the UK. It’s the only one of my expenses that is cheap. It’s gone up, there has definitely been food inflation, but it’s still cheap.

Exactly

www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-to-eat-a-balanced-diet/eating-a-balanced-diet/

Food is cheap relative to the amount of effort it takes to produce it.

The chicken has had a miserable life. Putting £5 on a life is awful too (the supply chain and the supermarkets).

It’s sort of all relative. A more accurate statement would be that you don’t find food expensive…which, ok? Thanks for sharing.

Our monthly grocery bill, for two adults and a 3 y/o, is around £400, which I find really expensive. I guess that includes household stuff like detergents, soaps, kitchen rolls etc too. Yes, I could probably reduce that by around 100 and still be getting all the f+v in, but it wouldn’t be fun. Any more than that and the macros/ diversity of nutrients/ food quality would start to suffer. Not saying it might not be possible for some v talented people/ those with the time…but that’s not me.

Im sure there’s an equation for how much of a household income is supposed to be spent on food Has to be looking a lot worse now than it was 10y ago, which is what people really feel in their bank accounts.

Meat is expensive but we should be eating a lot less of it. Lots of healthy food is cheap- lentils,
veg etc. If you stretch chicken over 2 days, have jackets 1 day, veggie curry,pasta another day…it’s fairly easy to keep bills low. If you chuck in brands and processed crap, loads of meat, alcohol etc the bills will be higher. And sorry I’m done with the people don’t know how to cook excuse, we follow YouTube and social media for everything.

A medium Waitrose chicken that is slow reared and higher welfare is £5.50.

Are they raised in a chicken shed as a battery chicken though?