To be Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr at the price of food [mad]

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I agree that it's mad to complain about the price of food if you have new sofas and foreign holidays. Most people that we know bought a house 5-10 years ago and have a small(ish) mortgage and lots of disposable income. But a lot of us have been so completely stuffed by the cost of housing plus now the increases in council tax and fuel, that the cost of food really is a big problem.

TBH I shop online and haven't spent alot more lately and haven't notice massive increases. I tend to stick to Tesco or Asda own makes anyway and get what's on offer. Tinned fruit is still pretty cheap. it's funny that people are up in arms when food/petrol prices rise yet they love it (some homeowners) when house prices rise!!! (Houses are just as essential) People expect so much these days, I agree that if we can feed and house our kids then we are luckier than alot of the world.

fruit and veg in supermarkets IS expensive. I get ours from local wholesalers - fruit ripe, strange shaped veg, all much cheaper (7 peaches for £1, 2 mangos £1.50 atm).

and food inflation affects you dispropotionately if you're working on small margins in the first place, which many people are with large mortgages, debts etc.

I don't think it's unreasonable for people to worry that they have to spend more than £50 a week on food. That's a lot of money to many people (me included).

" By MrsTittleMouse on Tue 03-Jun-08 16:42:49
I agree that it's mad to complain about the price of food if you have new sofas and foreign holidays. Most people that we know bought a house 5-10 years ago and have a small(ish) mortgage and lots of disposable income. But a lot of us have been so completely stuffed by the cost of housing plus now the increases in council tax and fuel, that the cost of food really is a big problem"

Agree, a frustrating part of that is so many can't see it. Our families are horrified by the amount we pay in rent, and wonder why we don't buy, refusing to believe we can't afford a home of our own.

If we had bought the food and fuel price increases might have made it impossible for us to make ends meet. Which makes me guess that many people are really struggling

I alway shop online, as it works out cheaper. What I didn't realise is that things online are sometimes 30-50p dearer than in the shop.

Rent and council tax take up more that half of DH's salary (and it's a good salary!). When you add in the cost of fuel bills, telephone, water rates and insurance, plus dentist and optician bills, there is very little slack. We do get a bit when all our peers have at least one foreign holiday a year (usually one fortnight plus a minibreak for the Mum and Dad) and have new clothes and furnishings all the time. I do know that there are more important things in life and that in terms of geography and history that I'm lucky that my DD isn't going hungry. It's so hard not to compare sometimes though (even though we wouldn't swap our lives for theirs for anything).

If you want good quality food, i think that it is worth spending the money on good food, making the absolute most out of it, and then make savings elsewhere.

WE get an organice veg box every week, and and organic meat box once a fortmight - it works out about the same price as buying organic from Sainsburys.

BUT, we get a slightly larger box than we 'need', paying a couple of pounds more, which means that we make loads of use of leftovers. We make soups the day before our next box is due - only takes minutes and they are great for lunches/lazy meals, and freeze well.

We always make our own chicken stock, which takes as long as it takes to peel and onion and a carrot and fill a pan with water.

Getting a 'bit too much' for the weekly shop means we always have a well stocked freezer; we can never justify take aways due to lack of anything in, and...this is the best bit...we hardly ever go to the supermarket anymore. I do an online shop about once a month now for household goods and 'staples' like rice and pasta, and fritter so much less away on unnecessary stuff.

Also, we find that every now and then, we can cancel that week's meat and veg delivery altogether.

WE have been really amazed at the reduced cost of food, since we have started this, and I would recommend anyone giving it a try.

But weirdly, you rarely hear complaints about people having to spend half their salary on accomodation. Increases in the cost of accomodation is seen as a good thing They benefit the minority who have chosen to speculate on prices and rents rising.

But obviously increases in the cost of food or fuel are bad. Though the producers of that food and fuel presumably benefit and actually also do work to produce something useful. Rather than treating their community as a monopoly board.

ChoChoSan

Where do you get you meatbox from if you don't mind me asking.

I recommend getting a breadmaker if you can. I know they're expensive to buy, but I got mine as a present. Can you?

It makes the house smell great and a bag of bread flour costs about 60p and makes 4-6 loaves of yummy bread. Trouble is, it's so yummy it doesn't last long....

Also, I use the menu service on www.savingdinner.com. It cost me about £12 for 52 weekly receipe emails each of which have 6 dinners in. They are tasty and quick to make. But what's even better is you get a ready made shopping list, so you only buy what you need and don't throw stuff out, thereby saving cash. I reckon I saved the £12 fee in the first couple of weeks and no more "what's for dinner?" every night.

we have a breadmaker but I've wondered if it is more economical than buying shop bought? Not only the cost of flour, but butter and more important electricity..

There are definitely advantages in using one - lovely smell, tasty bread as you say and no additives but I don't know if it is cheaper or not once the electricity cost is added..anyone know?

Havent read the whole thread but agree with posters reference food prices being artificially low in recent years and I think this is why food price rises have come as such a shock. You can eat cheaply if you eat fresh food and shop carefully. It is going to be interesting to see the profits of the supermarkets in the next 6 - 12 months, my predication is that they will continue to make healthy profits. Screwing firstly our farmers and secondly the consumer.

I would go as far as to say that actually this is a fabulous opportunity for people to 'rediscover' growing their own food, buying locally and in markets. There was a phone in on the radio the other day about food wastage - if we all planned better we could cut this thus cutting our costs.

actually sorry shouldn't have used the word 'cheaply' I should have said good quality at a fair price.

The price of food has been artificially low for years. The problem with it returning to previous levels is that we now have other bills which I'm sure are on average proportionately higher. Mortgages, council tax, public transport etc.

I think we are in for some lean times.

I recently had a conversation with a couple of my friends and they were surprised by how little I spent as they imagine I dine on caviar and champagne every night (mussels and budget wine actually these are cheap!).

I think the things I do which help are,

Shopping daily or almost daily and strictly only buying what I need
Bulking everything curries stews etc out with loads of cheap veg so it lasts for 2-4 days
Cooking the meals my mum cooked - she is pretty frugal
Buying the about to expire reduced fish or meat - I visit these counters first and then base the meal around it. Again only possible if you can go more than once a week which I know isn't possible for everything
Using things which seem exotic but are really cheap - mussels, trout, kidneys etc. Although I have a small baby now I don't know how she'll react to that later on!

I wish we had a local lidl now been sold on that by earlier posts!

I don't really understand the OP. Three angry faces would suggest that you're assuming you're getting ripped off somewhere along the line.

Supermarkets will always make a profit, but the rise in food prices has got nothing to do with them suddenly deciding to screw us to the floor. There are many factors, but one of them is burgeoning China.

My history teacher predicted thirty years ago, that when China developed a sizeable middle class, the price of food would soar. This is the first time in China's history that they've had to import food ... mostly meat .. to cater for the higher expectations of China's urbanites.

When nations rise out of poverty, food becomes scarcer, and therefore more expensive.

I was talking to the owner of my local fruit and veg shop the other day about the price of food.

He said he did not understand what was going on and that his produce had not gone up in price.

He does buy most of his fruit and veg locally. I have always bought from him rather than the supermarkets, his food has never been that much more expensive, and some of it has been lower.

For example 6 large free range eggs 95p and have been for the last 5 years. Can get cheaper fruit or veg in supermarkets if there is an offer on them but find they tend to go bad quicker.

Yes - cos in 1850 a loaf of bread was the equivelent to £36 THIRTY SIX POUNDS so yes until bread reaches this price you are

Moneysavingexpert website has lots of good tips and recipes. I also never buy chickpeas etc. in tins - buy and cook a whole bag then chill and freeze - you can use what you want with no waste and no tins too so green. Think Sainsburys have started selling frozen pulses now but is much more expensive than d.i.y..

This won't ultimately prove to be a bad thing.

As others have indicated, locally grown produce shouldn't go up in price too much (weather/seasonal stuff notwithstanding).

But rice, as a for instance, has shot up in price. Last year, I was paying 62p for a tin of Ambrosia Creamed rice. I love the stuff. This year, it's nearly £1.00.

Brand name bread has shot up too, due to increasing wheat prices. The reason why supermarket own brand bread hasn't gone up is because they're absorbing the loss elsewhere.

Katebee - we have a gadget that calculates exactly how much electricity any one appliance is using. My (Panasonic - a gift) bread maker uses about 8p worth of electricity for a small basic loaf which lasts us (DP, DD & I) a couple of days or so. We worked out that it saves us around 60p per loaf, this was at Christmas, it may be more now. Plus I know exactly what we are eating and can buy all organic ingredients and still save money on a standard non-organic loaf. HTH.

saltire...really? what supermarket do you use?
are the products more expensive online? I hadnt noticed....worried now....

I also have a bread maker and would highly recommend it.

I have the Morphy Richards compact one, which was £30 on amazon when I got it. If you are a family of 4 or less, it would be great for you. It makes slightly smaller loaves, but is lovely bread. Also makes pizza dough etc.

You can also make bread exactly how you like it, white, wholemeal, or as I do half and half.

Plus as it's only £30, you will make your money back in no time.

It costs more but at least we have food in the shops. Don't buy processed & it will be ok.