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?

Food is expensive. When we are doing label changes at work the prices are going up by 80p, 90p and over £1 now, a few years ago it would be 10p max when we changed them. Promotions and offers are not as good now and everything is getting smaller so it’s costing more but you are getting less.

Add shrinkflation to inflation and you have rip off Britain.

Prepacked vegetable sizes have shrunk so you end up having to buy double.

We try wherever possible to only buy loose veg and fruit but the option isn't always available.

Hi @ragandbonewoman
"Food is not expensive" is your opening gambit. Then you proceed to agree with another poster that you have far far less disposable income.

Food is therefore expensive. End of conversation.

But you can’t quantify that. How much is disposable income? How much should we have, it’s all subjective and down to choices re housing and big expenses. Less disposable income to some isn’t to others.Also parents raising kids previously didn’t have masses of disposable income. Why should we all have a huge amount of disposable income? Is that good for the planet?

Food has become very expensive.

@ninjahamster, I agree about salmon! When I was a kid, other fish was very cheap so we ate a lot of it, salmon was a very rare treat.

As a kid we only had a counter-height fridge with a single freezer drawer. We used to eat a lot of tinned crab and meat pastes, which are surprisingly pleasant if you get used to them. The flavours tend to be strong so we would just have a little bit and then bulk out meals with vegetables.

My kids absolutely love yellow smoked basa fillets with a runny fried egg, frozen peas and home made mash. Poach the basa filets very gently in milk - carefully so they stay succulent. Once cooked, use the smoky milk to mix in with the mashed up potatoes - it makes it taste delicious and you won’t need butter etc. I know this sounds weird but honestly it’s delectable! Basa is often on special offer in Tesco and freezes well.

My other tip is tinned mackeral. It’s very cheap compared to tuna.I struggle to get one of the dc to eat this simply based on how it looks, but the other one loves it. I serve it flaked alongside a big green salad and lots of black pepper, lemon juice, and fresh coriander if you like it (or could you parsely or dill). For carbs, toasted wholemeal pitta and sometimes I make a cold bean salad (tinned mixed beans and a little bit of onion chopped in).

YANBU

Do people like it, of course not. But our food was way too cheap for too long- chicken for a fiver as you say. That’s going to be a low welfare chicken. I personally think meat industry needs a massive overhaul and a huge increase in price.

We eat too much generally and we eat too much shit which why there are so many obese people.

It's getting more expensive but I still think it's actually less as a % of income than in he70s for example

I also cook everything from scratch for my family of 4 yet it costs more.

I will give you an example; breakfast we have homemade sourdough bread - sure this is cheap to bake however the rest of our items listed below are expensive:

• two avocados
• cherry tomatoes
• 7 eggs
• feta cheese
• cottage cheese
• pack of raspberries
• pint of whole milk
• tahini paste

-plain yoghurt

If I were to serve my family toast with butter and or jam then cereal for my two children then it would be cheaper, however that would not be as nutritious.

In addition to points already raised….Another unpopular opinion is that our portion sizes have also grown.

We are eating more than ever before so it is more expensive.

If you think a thumb sized bit of ginger is expensive, it just highlights how unrealistic some peoples version of expensive is.

OP, you are right. We should be spending way more of our income on food, to permit all our food to be produced in a sustainable and high-welfare way, which would massively improve biodiversity and limit other damages from industrial scale farming.

Food feels expensive because it is has gone up. But it is still a far smaller proportion of our outgoings than it was historically or is elsewhere. Unfortunately our food supply system has gone wrong snd the chain is too long, with middle men making profits at the expense of farmers. Plus all the terrible processed/prepared foods and 'restaurants' where conglomerates 'add value' at the cost of our health and purses. We have forgotten how to value excellent fresh produce, and don't feel we have time to create healthy meals cos we're too busy looking at our phones .

Depends how you look at it. Food is way more expensive than it was 3 years ago! Something I buy are nearly double what they use to be.

You can still eat well and reasonably cheap if you know how and have the means to cook and you are not particularly fussy / have any dietary requirements.

I can see your point OP - I guess you are referring to the ease of access to food in this country in comparison to other places. I think access to food in this country is great - just like most western and developed places - and I guess the rise in food banks and apps like too good to go, means that you can access food for almost nothing, if you choose to be strategic. Also having great local connections can make food very accessible. For instance I knew a neighbour that ran a food bank, I would help her out And she would be left with tonnes of free things afterwards l, so she would have to then give it out to neighbours - including me - I would pay a little - but that’s free food.

This way of living isn’t convenient for everyone though - yes some of us have a routine where we buy everything from a supermarket and maybe can’t shop around as much and be frugal.

I do think food is expensive - I hate the amount I have to spend on it and the % of my income ot takes up. But I’m very aware of level of waste and the amount of food that is chucked out from resturants and hotels and supermarkets - it’s ridiculous which makes me wonder why not reduce the cost of food if it’s being chucked out anyway.

2 free range Tesco chicken breasts. Over £10. That’s over £20 to feed a family of 4, if you care about animal welfare.

But whole meal toast and jam or toast and an egg with a portion of fruit is perfectly healthy as part of a balanced diet during the day. Nobody needs the amount of fat that is in 2 eggs, cheese and full fat milk in one meal anyway unless again it’s part of a balanced diet throughout the day.

Shrinkflation is such an issue I think we’ll end up buying invisible food!

I cook as much fresh as I can but I find the food bills more stressful when my kid comes back from uni as I have to buy a lot more food (typical broke but hungry student). A food shop though often includes household items (loo roll, laundry powder etc) and they are what can really bump my bills up.

I always have staples like rice, pasta and noodles but find I buy the more basic ranges when I used to buy better known brands. Food shopping budgets take up a lot of my brain space now.

We waste very little and if it’s ok for the dog to have then she’ll happily eat it.

So buy thigh fillets, they have more flavour.

Good quality meat and fish are expensive, but this is not an everyday thing in our house. We have meat maybe twice a week and fish the same, but otherwise it's eggs and other sources of protein.

It’s not necessary.In 1960 families weren’t spending on any of that.

Yes there were less cars but some of that is driven by people working further from home and it's more common for both parents to work now.
Phones didn't exist in the 60s so wouldn't have been spent on. DH and I have work phones and DD uses one of my phones from 5 yrs ago so what looks expensive is actually cheap.
Loads of people still have 2nd hand cars (we do), holiday mainly in the UK, don't have loads of takeaways etc. Coffee spend surely has just replaced pubs/alcohol spend as younger people drink less and pubs are closing down.

We have an allotment, I always think it's amazing that food can be bought so cheaply when I think of the time and effort we put into growing things.

I find prepared food expensive. M&S deli stuff, salads etc

And ‘premium’ food is expensive, steak, chicken breast etc.

But I can get through the week with what I think is good value food. Lots of in season veg, chicken thighs, not much red meat, beans and lentils, bags of frozen berries, frozen spinach, frozen fish fillets etc. Tasty hearty good food.

My choices that I find more expensive: my preferred butter and olive oil.

‘peasant food’ from many cultures is generally good value, tasty and healthy. Anything in bright shiny or posh packaging : expensive!

And a big one, family size is much smaller now vs the 60s so people are definitely thinking about how many dc they can afford.

I do strongly encourage everyone to grow their own herbs and chilli peppers! It is so easy to do. I’m horrified at the price of herbs.

You can ask for plant pots on free cycle - many gardeners will have some to donate. Buy a pack of compost and that’s all you need to get started.

Ask online local groups of friends if they have cuttings of rosemary and sage in spring - I always have a few cuttings potted up and ready to give friends who show an interest!

Herbs do well in pots. I have two flourishing thymes in 8 inch diameter pots (a lemon thyme and a common thyme). The thyme in the ground got so enormous my dh pulled it out because it was taking over!

I am lucky to have a house so I can put pots in sunny spots and also have some plants in the ground but a sunny balcony works too.

In Year One, Start with thyme, sage and rosemary. These are perennial and bushy and need to be chopped back annually - you’ll have mountains of herbs to use and dry for the winter and early spring before your plants sprout again. Drying herbs is easy - just spread out on a tray in a warm dry place.Save any jam jars or other screw top pots to keep your herbs in. Stuffing balls made with your own dried sage are a blessing in winter!

Then in year two, get some garden mint - I’ve always had to buy a starter plant but it’s worth it. If you get mint established it will run wild, so watch out (best in a large pot).

Your other herbs you will likely grow from purchased seed: coriander, dill, parsley, chives and cress are easy to grow. Chives should be perennial if they can grow big enough and get pollinators to reseed themselves.the flowers are so pretty and attract bees. I find basil and oregano is tricky to grow but not impossible.

My local library does a “free seed basket” and people donate surplus seeds -the librarian puts a pinch of the seeds into little twists of paper so you can take a small amount -ask if they can set one up!

Early in the year, rocket also grows well in a large pot. You can let it run to flowers and leave it until the seeds pods are brown/dried out as the weather warms up, and harvest the seeds for next year’s planting. You can also try other things you’d not find in Tesco like mizuna and sprouts.

Same with chilli’s: they do need heat and pollination so once the plants are establish get them in full sun. A chilli plant can last for years - my mum had one on a sunny windowsill that kept going and going. So bring it inside for winter and either pollinate with a little paintbrush or leave a window open nearby. Leave a couple of chilli’s to ripen and dry and voila, you have seeds to start more plants next year. My brother accidentally grew 13 chilli plants one year as every one survived and was eating dried chilli’s for a long time!

In the past in other homes I’ve managed to grow tarragon (perennial but died off in a harsh winter), lemon balm, peppermint, borage, chilli, garlic chives, garlic. All sorts of amazing plants and often beyond what you can buy on a supermarket shelf!

You don’t need as much space or talent as you think for this and it’s addictive, great for our insect populations and saves you money.

This has got to be the most middle class thread ive seen on here, after the thread from the woman who was getting bored of holidays to the Maldives every year! Ive been coming on MN and posting for years, had to sign up again because couldn't access my old profile…I remember when this actually felt like a normal working class mums forum. What the hell happened here?

It’s housing that’s draining the coffers. In 1960 the average rent was 18% of income expenditure. Now for people on a low wage it’s 59%.

yep