Food pricing crisis?

Cobbler_tone

In the news at the moment. It does seem as if you don't really shop around then food pricing must be pinching the average household. I'm not on a tight budget and find a combo of Hello Fresh and weekly Sainsbury online order my most efficient route, with limited time and spend around £120 a week in total. I used to be Aldi and Waitrose when I had more time and energy to get about.
Sainsbury's aren't too bad at all on Aldi price match, nectar prices etc, however......

£1.40 for a beefsteak tomato?!!!! You are having a laugh! That must be a top 'self refund' item! 
80p in Tesco BTW, which would be my limit.

There are some things I don't compromise on but a single tomato isn't one.

What have you noticed the most, which you swerve due to the current price and can't buy on offer?

Brie

Noticed in Sainburys (a rare visit) that they had a big box of those lovely little orange and red tomates.  The sort that sell at Lidl for £1.49 but significantly more.  But £5.50? No.  I'll wait for the ones in the garden to ripen.

20122013

Brie said:

I'll wait for the ones in the garden to ripen.

Your will more likely to be fresher, tastier and organic - well done you (I am jealous), As mine has grown in height (7 ft) but only 4 fruits...  All the prices has gone up or size has shrunk.  the condensed milk price : £0.89 now £1.15. Also the range of products have been slimmed down sainsburys.

millie

Asda own brand condensed milk is 88p. the Trolley App is good for comparing prices

Slinky

You used to be able to buy loose onions in Tesco by the kilo. A few weeks back they started pricing them individually at 21p each! If that wasn't bad enough, they are now 25p each. Fortunately we've just harvested the 50 we grew from sets, so won't be shelling out that much for a good while yet.

I'm peed off that you can no longer buy loose tomatoes (apart from beefsteak ones) and mushrooms in Tesco.

cantbelieveit23

I'm sure it's true that prices are rising, but I tend not to notice very often.  Although I set out with a list, I will usually change my menu plan during the shop if the price is more than I think reasonable.  I don't spend any time comparing prices in different supermarkets.  I usually shop twice a week (once in Tesco, once in Aldi) and do always buy certain items in Tesco (if not available in Aldi) and others in Aldi (mainly where there is a significant price difference).   These shops are 2 and 5 min drive from home, a physical shop is generally more economical and takes no longer than ordering online.   I guess the original post is really a probably justified moan about price gouging rather than a budget issue, because £120 sounds a lot and Hello Fresh cannot be the most economical (Yes, I have tried it).  In Spain at present and I always notice that shoppers in our local supermarket tend to buy local produce in season, and what is well-priced at the time.

Cobbler_tone

cantbelieveit23 said:

I'm sure it's true that prices are rising, but I tend not to notice very often.  Although I set out with a list, I will usually change my menu plan during the shop if the price is more than I think reasonable.  I don't spend any time comparing prices in different supermarkets.  I usually shop twice a week (once in Tesco, once in Aldi) and do always buy certain items in Tesco (if not available in Aldi) and others in Aldi (mainly where there is a significant price difference).   These shops are 2 and 5 min drive from home, a physical shop is generally more economical and takes no longer than ordering online.   I guess the original post is really a probably justified moan about price gouging rather than a budget issue, because £120 sounds a lot and Hello Fresh cannot be the most economical (Yes, I have tried it).  In Spain at present and I always notice that shoppers in our local supermarket tend to buy local produce in season, and what is well-priced at the time.

HF may not be the most economical but not too bad on offers. Pro’s: variety, recipe ideas, no food waste, on your door step, time saving. Con’s: packaging waste. I love cooking so takes away creativity. They seem to make a lot of picking errors!

Budget is relative. For two of us we budget £800 for all food, drink and household bits. e.g. £40 a month oat milk powder delivery. No single use plastic via Smol. Bits from Amazon on subscription like the toothpaste we use. Weekly HF and Sainsbury’s, due to a lack of time for physical shopping. So the motivation isn’t to shop in the cheapest way and I am sure we could cut it in half if needed but we like nice stuff and fortunate not to penny pinch.

Yeah, the OP was about how you can see prices rocketing in general (I still want VFM!) and the need to look for offers and shop around, which must be a challenge for some.

Murphybear

Cobbler_tone said:

In the news at the moment. It does seem as if you don't really shop around then food pricing must be pinching the average household. I'm not on a tight budget and find a combo of Hello Fresh and weekly Sainsbury online order my most efficient route, with limited time and spend around £120 a week in total. I used to be Aldi and Waitrose when I had more time and energy to get about.
Sainsbury's aren't too bad at all on Aldi price match, nectar prices etc, however......

£1.40 for a beefsteak tomato?!!!! You are having a laugh! That must be a top 'self refund' item! 
80p in Tesco BTW, which would be my limit.

There are some things I don't compromise on but a single tomato isn't one.

What have you noticed the most, which you swerve due to the current price and can't buy on offer?

Surely whether it’s good value depends on the size.  Some beefsteak tomatoes are massive