In lidl...brocilli, cucumber and tomatoes are99p,

[malificent7]

That is an increase from.around 70p a few weeks ago. In lidl. Very concerning. Anyone else noticed?

We're in the 'hungry gap' meaning most fruit and veg will be imported and also likely grown in artificial conditions even in Spain/North Africa so it's probably peak pricing that might fall back a little over the summer.

However, the whole UK supply chain will be building in anticipated cost increases (NI and NMW). Hopefully also the growers will have been paid more - a lot of produce is grown by migrant workers who are exploited and live in slums. A few pence extra on what are still relatively low cost items is worth it if it increases their income. People talk about how NMW should be higher, but also need to accept the consequences that it increases the cost of goods produced and sold by lower paid workers.

I know prices have gone up, but it still remains that, relative to incomes, UK food prices are some of the lowest in the world. We have access to pretty much any food item we want, at any time of year regardless of season or weather conditions, at relatively low cost. We should be grateful, not 'concerned'.

You have made some good points however Lidl is a budget super market. Those who shop there are generally not as well off..if proces in lodl are more lije Waitrose then its concerning.

I know cost of living is giving everyone a hammering at the moment but food is so cheap compared to most countries. Price increases in production and importing at this time of year mean everything has to go up

I was about to head down there for a bargain when I read that! I don’t think that’s bad?

I shop at Tesco’s, admittedly I forage a lot on the reduced shelf out of sheer horror that my shopping bill is now approaching £900 a month.

My husband and I are good with money, don’t drink, cook from scratch without fail and don’t care about brands. I have two teenagers who eat constantly. By the third week in every month I’m like “ok this is Aldi week then” just to hold back the tide of constant paying out.

Lidl is a business who's first priority is to make a profit.

It's not a social enterprise that exists for the purpose of selling food that is affordable to absolutely everyone.

No one owes the Uk cheap food. It's not cheap when it's grown here, why should it be cheaper when imported from abroad? It's tough but we all need to accept that, from now on, more of our money will need to be used to buy food and less will be available for our ridiculously expensive housing

I find it madness that people want raspberries in February.
It is extremely sad that people don't understand seasons.

The person refusing a sub for organic strawberries at this time of year...
I just can't

It’s the beginning of March and you want to eat tomatoes and cucumbers. They are therefore grown in greenhouses on the other side of the planet and flown into the country daily.

They should be expensive.

we all need to start thinking more about the planet, sustainability and our reliance on other countries. With the current world turmoil, being so dependent on others is being shown to be a bad thing.

Eat seasonally and you’ll find it cheaper (although as a pp has said, this is the hungry gap anyway)

You are right about seasonal eating but brocilli surely is a wibter veg? The hungry gap explains it a bit.

You're still not paying the real price of food. Only a fucked up system that shafts everyone from workers to the land allows it to be sold for that.

I'm not criticising you. I know what it's like economically rn and I know what it's like to only have pennies left for food. We shouldn't be in the position where we have to pay so much for housing, bills and other things that we have to buy unrealistically priced food (often grown in ways that leave it far less nutritious) just to keep our families fed. Sucks.

Winter veg that can be grown in the UK (ie and then not flown over here) are things like carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, parsnips, swede, sprouts. Broccoli is still being imported from Spain at the moment.

If the Broccoli is not coming from the UK then higher trade taxes with Europe will have to be paid, especially after Brexit as we are no longer part of Europe.

Buy cabbage , cauliflower, parsnips instead. Grown in UK so cheaper.

The UK food prices really really aren’t the lowest in the world. Italy, Spain and France are cheaper for a start, especially fruit and veg which is largely fresher, better quality, and with more variety too.

This. I'm laughing my head off at the idea that is expensive. OP you really have no idea what other people in the world are paying, and yes they also have a cost of living problem.

Christ, what do you eat? Fillet steak?

We are one adult and one hollow legged 16yo, so half your household. . Our bill is £250 a month.

Like you, I cook from scratch, buy organic dairy, lots of fruit & veg, meat & fish. As little processed stuff as possible. Shop in Tesco.

Yes but they also have significantly higher wages. Dd spends a lot of time in Canada and has a Canadian boyfriend. Yes groceries are a lot more but her wage would be 4x over there than what it is here. We’re a very low wage economy here. My worry is that groceries continue to rise to American/canadian prices but wages don’t.

A lot of our homegrown winter veg has been affected by the fact we have had a very wet autumn/winter.

I live abroad and broccoli is at least £5
Cucumber is £3
Tomatoes around £5 (depending on type)

I miss the U.K.

Spellcheckers are free on most phones though.

And good manners cost nothing but here we are.

For cheaper veg it’s buy what it grown in the UK
In America lots of women grow veg and/or take advantage of seasonal gluts and can/bottle and freeze fruit and veg for the more expensive months. Yes it took me and a couple of hours but I put up 20 jars of cherry tomatoes last summer and we use them on cooking. No fresh tomatoes at this time of year as they’re too expensive.

I got a 'Waste not, want not' box in Lidl last week - at least 20 potatoes, some of them big 'baked spud' size, more than a dozen easy peelers, three oranges, five limes, three lemons 3 apples and a head of Brocolli for €3.

Getting one always feels a bit like winning the lottery, but I'm wondering should I make a mixed fruit marmalade.

Climate change too. www.thegrocer.co.uk/news/uk-fruit-and-veg-supply-threatened-as-morocco-heatwave-decimates-crops/682283.article

I’m trying to get into more seasonal eating when it comes to fruit and veg, to reduce costs and food miles, but it’s not simple or quick.

If summer salad is for sale, it’s normal to want it and plan our meals to include it without thinking if it’s natural to be eating it at this time of year. I’m not a veg grower so not certain when things come into season.

I was looking at the asparagus the other day in Aldi wondering if it was in season now. Nope - it comes from Peru!!! Why do we need to eat asparagus all year and fly tiny plastic packets of it across the Atlantic?! I know I’ve bought it in the past without even thinking about it.