Is this normal?

[Baconbuttymad]

Family of 4 spending £200 per week on food shopping.
have spoken to neighbour (also family of 4) and she says they spend around the same plus top ups at a smaller Tesco throughout the week…

Ours can get that high if it's a meat/toiletries/cleaning stuff type week. I would say normally 170-180. I skimp where I can but it's a stubbornly high groceries bill for sure. Haven't got the energy to chase even more skimping. I meal plan and it just is what it is

its a little high but it depends what you need!
One week of the month I will spend £200-220 for a week that includes topping up my freezer (chips, frozen veg, puddings for the kids), tin cupboard, meats, cat litter, cat biscuits for the month, etc and then the rest of the month i only spend around £100 a week for stuff for dinners that i dont have in, lunch box stuff, fresh food.

I doubt it’s “normal” as I’m sure a lot of families couldn’t afford that, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. The healthier we are eating the higher our food bills are in my experience, others will say it’s the opposite, but for me, when I am paying more attention to ensuring we are eating more varied and fresh food it costs a lot more than when I’m going to my lazier more convenient foods.

Anyway, I think there’s been a huge drive to make food bills low (understandable in this climate) but if you can afford it, I don’t think there’s anything wrong in prioritising your food bill if it means you’re eating better. Obviously if you’re spending £200 and it’s crap, that’s another thing lol. But I’m trying to allow myself to not budget so harshly on food (because we don’t need to) and instead prioritise health.

Everyone is different op, these threads tend to blow up to the extreme higher and lower spends, but everyone has different requirements, different houses etc- eg there’s six in ours and we use 5 x2 l of milk a week and 4/5 sliced pans.A single friend was queuing behind me and said she’d never seen so much milk and bread!

Yes I think it’s because we prioritise healthy foods (nothing frozen). Fresh veg etc nothing tinned (well sum times)

You should look at the nutritional differences/benefits between fresh and frozen vegetables.

A lot is going to depend on who exactly the family of four are! Two giant teenagers who power through bread and milk as if there’s no tomorrow? One or more family members with a heavy reliance on expensive/niches foods for some reason? One or more serious athletes in full-on training for a big event and needing to pack in the calories on a daily basis? Buying out of season fruit and veg at a premium?

My main shop for four (two teen boys two adults) is around £105 a week but we do do top ups and it is hard to know what the odd pop to the Tesco down the road for bread, milk, veg etc adds up to

If that’s 2 teens eating beyond adult portions perhaps 200 is reasonable but I would guess 160 would be possible even with only healthy food

frozen fish and veg is very healthy and lots of veggie / vegan dinners rather than meat every day is also the healthy way forward

It’s a little over £7 per person per day, hardly extravagant really. I’d say that’s a perfectly “normal” budget for a family of average means to feed four people three meals daily. And presumably includes non-food items such as laundry detergent, cleaning products, and toiletries too, some shops?

We spend around half that. It doesn't include school lunches for DS16 or one of the adults. The 3 adults do intermittent fasting so don't eat breakfast. All meals are from scratch, no ready meals. No alcohol, fizzy drinks or pet food.

There is no “normal” op. Surely you knew that.

Sure - I’m sure some people spend way more too! We can spend that when my kids are home (so three adults). My pets alone cost about £25/week. Add a bottle of wine and some beer that’s another £15. I know people on MN say ‘we survive on £50/week for family of four’ but food is one of life’s great pleasures and if one can afford it that’s up to them.

i would be shocked if people are surviving on £50 these days for a family of 4 each week. The price of mince alone has doubled and then some.

last week we did £130 big Sainsbury's shop then 2 additional M&S shops. Prob totalling £200+

As pp have said : there isn't a normal because there are so many variables.

I live by myself and I can't get over the increase in the food bill due to the cost of living.

I don't normally buy meat but recently bought some mince because I wanted to make some chilli when my son visited.
I had not bought mince for literally a few years and I did a double take when I saw the price if it - especially the lower fat content options. I was stood there trying to readjust my perception of mince being a cheap meat option. So I can only assume in meat eating households with children the cost of meat alone must be really substantial, let alone all the other food necessities.

An approximately weekly food shop is usually between £100 - £120 for me and my DP and there's only the two of us.There's no 'normal' with these things. It's going to depend on income, dietary needs, priorities and personal preferences.