Food prices - can't keep up!

We have some of the cheapest food in the developed world, cheaper than the US as well.

If you want your food cheap then you pay the price with exploited farmers and an excess of denatured, sugar and fat enhanced UPFs. We are also one of the fattest countries n Europe and the unhealthiest.

In the 1950s up to a third of family incomes were spent on food. It is now less than 10%. If we want a flourishing farming sector and a fit healthy population we need to change our priorities. I note, even on Gransnet how much some people spend on clothes and the success of companies like Shein is based on selling cheap tat for £10 for a dress, wear once and throw away. Add that £10 to the food budget and priorities will be moivng in the right direction

I always shop in Lidl, and consider that their prices compare favourably to other supermarkets. I prefer a small supermarket, as I find the larger ones rather overwhelm me. I buy most of our meat, veg and fruit at a local farm shop, but spend wisely and often batch cook.

Towards the end of Covid, I made the decision to give up my car (insurance at 80 years so high, and lots of public transport local to where I live).
I then commenced shopping on line with my normal supermarket = Sainsbury. My eldest daughter purchased a shopping voucher enabling me to have one hour choice of delivery.

Main problem I had with this was that the minimum amount of the shop had to be £40. Living by myself, always cooking from scratch, this was impossible for me - my normal full weekly food, and cleaning shop was around £33-£34. I used o add in books of stamps, box of chocs (for xmas), etc but even with those could still only make that forty pounds three out of four weeks, so once a month I would go to my nearby very large Tesco for a small shop.

Still keep this shopping pattern, and have cut out certain food items which I felt were not really necessary, even so, just putting in my weekly staples, soon takes me over that forty pounds. This last weekend, I did my Tesco monthly shop - noticed that their own butter (which I can easily remember same price as Sainsbury's own was 89p was now £2.00.

I shopped in tesco yesterday. I bought finest cottage pie for two with two bags of tenderstem broccoli (I like tesco fresh veg) and one carton of milk.

£7:50

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We use Tesco purely out of convenience. It’s near and parking is easy. Sometimes we use Waitrose where I look for stickered items and pop in the freezer. I have found they’ve all gone up considerably and I’m really noticing it. I’m glad I’ve got a big freezer so I can put reduced items in it. I do find they’ve Clubcard offers quite good savings and look for those trotting round.

Where I live, there are only Halal butchers-not for me.

We’ve had groceries delivered for seven years now, mainly Tesco, just checking a few orders from January last year and they’re a similar price, bar the odd £ or two, to those this month.
I just adjust what we eat and buy to what’s on offer, shop in our local butcher from their weekly offers and buy some veg from the farm shop.

Witzend

ferry23

David49

You have to remember food prices are much higher in other countries, including EU, Australia and NZ, a weak sterling does not help, weather events make it worse.

But pensions are generally higher. Our state pension is pretty miserly compared to other developed countries.

AFAIK it’s means-tested in Australia, though. A friend of ours - comfortable but hardly loaded - received precisely $0.

My sister in Brisbane gets 0 too, her only reason for staying is is “if you’re broke and miserable at least you’re warm”.

ferry23

David49

You have to remember food prices are much higher in other countries, including EU, Australia and NZ, a weak sterling does not help, weather events make it worse.

But pensions are generally higher. Our state pension is pretty miserly compared to other developed countries.

AFAIK it’s means-tested in Australia, though. A friend of ours - comfortable but hardly loaded - received precisely $0.

David49

You have to remember food prices are much higher in other countries, including EU, Australia and NZ, a weak sterling does not help, weather events make it worse.

But pensions are generally higher. Our state pension is pretty miserly compared to other developed countries.

I did 2 like for like shops on line with Tesco and Ocado.. I was shocked to see a £30 difference.. I obviously bought the Tesco shop..
But I buy meat from a butcher who delivers (local meat) and I also shop for eggs and fruit/veg at our local open market

I'm also staggered at the way items in particular chocolate have diminished in size..

TBH food prices have traditionally been relatively cheap in the U.K.* I’ve frequently been a bit 😱 at prices in France, at just the Asda equivalent supermarket, not any upmarket organic.

Ditto a sister who’s lived in the US for decades has often remarked that it’s quite a bit cheaper than at home.

Our housing costs, especially anywhere in the SE, are eye-watering, though.

Ocado do a price match with Tesco. I often get a couple of pounds off.

You have to remember food prices are much higher in other countries, including EU, Australia and NZ, a weak sterling does not help, weather events make it worse.

I don't think that Aldi and Lidl are much cheaper than the rest. They do, however, have less choice and this limits your spending.
I could easily spend twice as much in a big Tesco!

Tesco prices seem to increase each week, but this week I picked up a real bargain. A turkey crown was reduced from £26 to £6. We're going to have it today for dinner.

What gets me annoyed is shrinkation we are paying more for less !

Waitrose is local, inadvertently that store has weaned me off red meat. They do not sell small packs of mince, and I left a £15 sirloin steak on the shelf.

I shop online with Morrisons, and now I specifically look for bargains, especially on laundry and dishwasher capsules.

This doesn’t copy very well, but this is from Which? Magazine December 2024 cost of the same items.

Average price for 56 items
Aldi
£100.29
Lidl with Lidl Plus
£101.48
Lidl
£101.56
Tesco witih Clubcard
£111.22
Sainsbury's with Nectar
£112.13
Tesco
£112.90
Asda
£113.22
Morrisons with More
£114.01
Morrisons
£116.32
Sainbury's
£116.70
Ocado
£120.83
Waitrose
£129.83

I think Sainburys are expensive. We do most of our shopping in Aldi, but I do sometimes go to Asda, Lidl or Tesco. I also pop into Morrisons from time to time as I like their instore butcher for getting stuff to make soup with.

Mt61

BlueBelle

But hasn’t Sainsbury’s and Waitrose always been the expensive supermarkets I don’t know I ve never shopped in either?
You’re right though Asda are sneaky they put their butter up by about 20p then emblazoned ‘January price drops’ yay it had come done by 1p Sneaky

I think Asda & Morrison’s are super expensive, & as for Lidl I don’t know why people think that’s a cheap place to shop.

More reason to boycott Asda and Morrisons then as neither pay corporation tax.

I've been buying a little less each week to compensate for the higher prices. I shop in Aldi for most items but Sainsburys for fruit and veg.

Our youngest daughter shops on line and has a weekly Tesco delivery for their family of four. She says at one time her food budget and monthly petrol budget were separate entities. Now she’s had to combine the two for their food shop. A huge increase when you think about it.

uk.news.yahoo.com/supermarket-cheaper-aldi-lidl-now-072902280.html
This is useful because it gives you the price per supermarket of the basket of basic items, broken down by item. It’s available weekly.