Food Inflation

[Horridbloke]

I was shopping for tomorrow's sunday roast plus a few other bits and pieces earlier. It's been several months since I last bothered (on account of me being lazy) but I was knocked for six by the prices asked.

• Beef joint, big enough for several people. Expected price around £7 . Actual price was £10.50.
  
• Bad of nice potatoes. Expected price around £1.20. Actual price was £2.
  
• Coconut milk. Expected price around a quid. Asking price for the easily found brand was £1.40 (though I found a cheaper brand in the "foreign food" section at the back of the store).
  

It looks like there's been a 30 to 50 percent price jump on these items over the last year. These are all items I usually buy fairly regularly, so I have a reasonable idea of what they did cost. Other staples such as canned tomatoes have also become ridiculous recently.

This was at the local Megatesco. Do I just need to wake up and shop elsewhere or is this another indication of the UK being in real trouble?

My local dodgy south coast off-license is also seeing the pinch - I can no longer get six cans of Stella for a fiver.

[porca misèria]

I was shopping for tomorrow's sunday roast plus a few other bits and pieces earlier. It's been several months since I last bothered (on account of me being lazy) but I was knocked for six by the prices asked.

Um, diddums?

I see mixed signals, but food this year has tended downwards on balance. On the other hand, Morrisons have just this week lost the four premium beers (or ciders) for a fiver deal, and upped it to £5.50. Wish I'd had notice of that in time to stock up!

I'm much more alarmed seeing the bike I bought last year for £800 is now £1499. Ouch! Guess something like that will apply to other imported goods, other than those with a powerful long-term downward trend (newspeak: deflation) that characterises everything-electronic.

[worzel]

On the other hand, Morrisons have just this week lost the four premium beers (or ciders) for a fiver deal, and upped it to £5.50. Wish I'd had notice of that in time to stock up!

I always get beer from Majestic, the usual deal is a case of Budwar 20 half litre bottles for £20. And its a much better beer than Stella IMO. They have usually got other deals on aswell though.

[porca misèria]

I always get beer from Majestic, the usual deal is a case of Budwar 20 half litre bottles for £20. And its a much better beer than Stella IMO. They have usually got other deals on aswell though.

pfft. Don't drink enough lager to make that worthwhile.

I'm sure there are other deals around. Morrisons just happens to be within weekly-shop distance of me. Majestic isn't. Nor is any other off-license.

[Errol]

Good meat is only going to get more expensive, unfortunately.

[porca misèria]

Good meat is only going to get more expensive, unfortunately.

Where have you been able to get good meat in living memory? It's all farmed crap.

You want good meat, you catch it yourself. Rat pie!

[Guest happy?]

I was shopping for tomorrow's sunday roast plus a few other bits and pieces earlier. .....

This was at the local Megatesco. Do I just need to wake up and shop elsewhere or is this another indication of the UK being in real trouble?

My local dodgy south coast off-license is also seeing the pinch - I can no longer get six cans of Stella for a fiver.

Inflation is assymetric - food staples have seen significant price increases whilst tat electricals have plummeted. I think the solution would be to eat an iPod a day - apparently they're Apples.

Edited July 18, 2009 by happy?

[interestrateripoff]

I thought food prices where coming down, isn't that why RPI is so low. Wasn't lower food costs cited as an official reason?

[Guest happy?]

I thought food prices where coming down, isn't that why RPI is so low. Wasn't lower food costs cited as an official reason?

RPI is low because of the house price crash. CPI is still way above government targets from what I recall. As always inflation depends entirely on your age - manufactured goods (mostly bought by the young) are getting so cheap they face the wait-till-tomorrow-it'll-be-cheaper syndrome. Old people of course need to eat today - some food is falling in price but staples are still incredibly high (e.g. a bottle of scotch just keeps on rising).

Personally, I'd probably do without the beef - or get a cheaper cut and casserole it. The alcohol is an essential and one should never compromise - it's a false economy as you end-up scrubbing your boots in patchouli.

[waitingandsaving]

I think it was BlooLoo who used to post the cost of a monthly shop - he(?) sent his offspring at Uni a monthly care package - made up of exactly the same stuff each month - it was a great indicator for prices - I wonder if he still does it?

I've noticed that basic products like canned toms and beans are up 50% on last years prices, meat is pricier, and stocks on the shelves are more spread out so there's less to discount at the end of the day.

I take my grandmother shopping once a fortnight - she buys very similar stuff each time - nothing fancy, she still cooks from scratch, so mainly basics, no ready meals or anything (apart from ready made pies...). A couple of years ago, it would have been about £25-£30 for a shop. Now it averages out to £50 a time.

Edit - as for the beef, as Happy? says - go for a cheaper cut and casserole it - Brisket is great stuff, and you can get a very large lump of it for about £5-6. It tastes great, sling it in the oven in a lidded casserole dish with some sauce and forget about it for as long as you like. Sadly, even Brisket has risen in price recently - I don't know if it's because cheaper cuts are making a comeback on TV shows and in foodie mags, hence increasing demand (it used to be cheap as no-one wanted it), or if it's becasue of overall meat inflation.

Edited July 18, 2009 by waitingandsaving

[Horridbloke]

(snip)

I've noticed that basic products like canned toms and beans are up 50% on last years prices, meat is pricier, and stocks on the shelves are more spread out so there's less to discount at the end of the day.

I take my grandmother shopping once a fortnight - she buys very similar stuff each time - nothing fancy, she still cooks from scratch, so mainly basics, no ready meals or anything (apart from ready made pies...). A couple of years ago, it would have been about £25-£30 for a shop. Now it averages out to £50 a time.

(snip)

Not just me then.

It doesn't massively affect me at the moment, but I was alarmed recently to hear of a couple of local "food bank" charities that provide nutritionally-balanced grocery packages for the poor and needy. Not so long ago I'd have considered food shortages and hunger to be "something that happens abroad" - I am a snob and live in what's supposed to be a reasonably affluent area. Guess I was wrong.

[samcoupe]

Which part of the country are you from ?

I am truly shocked heard of such things in america but in the UK?

i think i will google some information on food banks.

[waitingandsaving]

Not just me then.

It doesn't massively affect me at the moment, but I was alarmed recently to hear of a couple of local "food bank" charities that provide nutritionally-balanced grocery packages for the poor and needy. Not so long ago I'd have considered food shortages and hunger to be "something that happens abroad" - I am a snob and live in what's supposed to be a reasonably affluent area. Guess I was wrong.

Anecdotals from a couple of local churches round this way - one of which has a scheme where people bring food to the church and it's boxed up and redistributed by health visitors etc to families that need it - it's discretionary for them to give to who they think it will serve best, and some of the boxes are designed for people who don't have any method of cooking in the house (this last bit shocked me...)

Another church in the city did a similar thing for harvest festival time, and then kept going through until after the Christmas period, as the need was identified.

Another church near the city centre has an "open table" once a week - soup, roll and fruit to anyone who comes - for free.

It's projects and places like these that will identify the changes in wealth first. Homeless numbers will take a while to change, but an increase in demand for food will be primary indicators IMHO.

[Horridbloke]

Which part of the country are you from ?

I am truly shocked heard of such things in america but in the UK?

i think i will google some information on food banks.

I live in Bournemouth and commute several miles to Christchurch to do work.

A while ago I wandered across to the local Sainsbury at lunchtime and found this local food bank/charity (cannot recall their name - sorry) outside. They were asking people to buy certain foodstuffs such as long-life orange juice to donate on the spot as it were.

I was a bit shocked by this and delving around found a similar Bournemouth-based charity (based in Charminster I think - not that it particularly matters) in an article by the local rag. The representative said they'd received an increased number of requests for help recently and that many of the people were ashamed to be contacting them.

I never seriously thought there was a need for charities like this in the UK before. Even when I was a undergraduate I managed to eat, albeit usually badly. That's another "fundamental human right" we cannot take for granted any more.

[Guest happy?]

I live in Bournemouth and commute several miles to Christchurch to do work.

A while ago I wandered across to the local Sainsbury at lunchtime and found this local food bank/charity (cannot recall their name - sorry) outside. They were asking people to buy certain foodstuffs such as long-life orange juice to donate on the spot as it were.

I was a bit shocked by this and delving around found a similar Bournemouth-based charity (based in Charminster I think - not that it particularly matters) in an article by the local rag. The representative said they'd received an increased number of requests for help recently and that many of the people were ashamed to be contacting them.

I never seriously thought there was a need for charities like this in the UK before. Even when I was a undergraduate I managed to eat, albeit usually badly. That's another "fundamental human right" we cannot take for granted any more.

The churches have always provided this sort of support - even in the 1960's as a child I remember harvest festivals where we were encouraged to provide food donations for the needy. There's a long history of welfare charities obtaining foodstuffs from the big four food chains and of course those on strike have always banded together to share foodstuffs where state benefits have been withdrawn in order to break the strike (miners strike of 1984 is an obvious example.

Crisis has been offering such care and highlighting the problem for several decades www.fareshare.org.uk. Food poverty is among us - even in good times.

[tinker]

I think it was BlooLoo who used to post the cost of a monthly shop - he(?) sent his offspring at Uni a monthly care package - made up of exactly the same stuff each month - it was a great indicator for prices - I wonder if he still does it?

It may be eightiesgirly who does that.

As far as I'm concerned food prices have increased dramatically of late. You just have to shop wisely.

No way am I paying £2 for a bag of spuds. Watch out for the offers...

Tins of tuna, very lucky to find them at 50p a tin.

Just think how much food is imported and the devaluation of the pound.

Supermarkets appear to be profiteering on the switch to value brands, which have been creeping up (disproportionately).

[samcoupe]

I must be honest here this is one of those things that really wind me up. This country has bailed out the banks. But has left parts of the communty without enough money to eat or even enough to afford heating to heat up the food (Shocked to hear that though). If the government has all this money to throw around how about encuraging companys like

http://www.thanetearth.com/

1. Good for the enviroment using waste co2 from power stations.

2. Good for the enviroment less travel miles.

3. Create jobs (real jobs)

4. Reduce relience on imported food.

5. The food is paid for in Pounds so even if (when) Gorden Brown totally thrasses the pound at least people can eat.

Maybe i am too simplistic . The wan.. sorry bankers should get to f***

[DementedTuna]

My dad doesn't own a cooker at the moment, old one broke and it'd take him a couple of months to save for a new one... we're getting one sorted for him. People without family support are stuffed.

Edited July 18, 2009 by DementedTuna

[DementedTuna]

double post.

Edited July 18, 2009 by DementedTuna

[kh1234567890]

I always get beer from Majestic, the usual deal is a case of Budwar 20 half litre bottles for £20. And its a much better beer than Stella IMO. They have usually got other deals on aswell though.

More like £1.40 a bottle these days. About a euro in France and less than 40p in the Czech Republic (if you bring the empty bottle back). Still wholly owned by the Czech government.

[huw]

I never seriously thought there was a need for charities like this in the UK before. Even when I was a undergraduate I managed to eat, albeit usually badly. That's another "fundamental human right" we cannot take for granted any more.

It would be interesting to look at the budget of the typical person receiving food from this charity, to see how how they are prioritising their various human rights, and where food is placed in the burgeoning list of essentials.

[Kilham]

My dad doesn't own a cooker at the moment, old one broke and it'd take him a couple of months to save for a new one... we're getting one sorted for him. People without family support are stuffed.

Have you tried Freecycle?.

[bagsos]

We (2 of us, and feeding regular visitors) have a fairly standard weekly shop at Lidl. At best it was £25 - £30 pw (2006/2007). It then went up to £35 - £40 pw for the same stuff. Coming back down now tho; vine toms, aubergines and zuccini very good value at the moment.

[porca misèria]

Not just me then.

It doesn't massively affect me at the moment, but I was alarmed recently to hear of a couple of local "food bank" charities that provide nutritionally-balanced grocery packages for the poor and needy. Not so long ago I'd have considered food shortages and hunger to be "something that happens abroad" - I am a snob and live in what's supposed to be a reasonably affluent area. Guess I was wrong.

It's long been reported that many "poor" eat a diet that is thoroughly unhealthy (though by no means cheap). Things like fish&chips, burgers, and for something a little less unhealthy, pizza. A charity might try to give them, and especially their children, something more healthy.

My own recent-ish experience of poverty reassures me I can still eat a nutritionally-better diet than that for £2/week. But if I were to be back to that level (i.e. run out of money and disallowed the dole 'cos I was making efforts to improve my lot), I'd accept a bit of variety where I could get it!

[Guest eight]

[*]Coconut milk. Expected price around a quid. Asking price for the easily found brand was £1.40 (though I found a cheaper brand in the "foreign food" section at the back of the store).

Blue Dragon coconut milk has virtually doubled in price in Sainsburys in the last 6-8 months, it's about £1.45 now.

I solved this by getting 40 tins of generic coconut milk from the local Thai shop (first time I'd ever ventured in) for £0.69 a pop.

eight