Dal quotidiano “THE GUARDIAN”: ‘Desperate choices’ as essential food costs rise 30% in two years

‘Desperate choices’ as essential food costs rise 30% in two years

Jess Clark · 14 Ago 2023

The cost of some basic food items such as cheese, butter and bread has soared by more than 30% in the past two years, forcing poorer households to “make desperate choices between keeping up their bills or putting food on the table”, say campaigners.
Food price inflation has slowed in recent months, but costs remain much higher than they were two years ago, disproportionately affecting low-income households, according to research by the consumer body Which? shared exclusively with the Guardian.
The annual pace of grocery price growth cooled to 14.9% over the four weeks to 9 July, down from 16.5% a month earlier, according to the latest analysis by the retail industry data provider Kantar.
Despite the slowdown, however, Which? figures showed that food prices have shot up significantly over the last two years, with some products up more than 30% on 2021 levels.
Products that have seen the highest rates of inflation are milk (36.4%), cheese (35.2%), butters and spreads (32.2%), cakes and cookies (31.2%), and bakery items (30.3%).
Vegetable prices are up 19.1% since May-July 2021, with meat up 23.6%, and savoury pies, pastries and quiches up 26.2%. Biscuits, and juice drinks and smoothies, are up 27% and 28.6% respectively.
The consumer rights group is urging supermarkets to stock their cheapest products in their convenience stores as well as larger outlets, as charities warned that families were struggling to cope with food inflation.
Richard Lane, the director of external affairs at the debt charity Step Change, said: “The rising cost of living is forcing households to reassess their budgets and cut back to make ends meet. Food inflation remains high and has pushed the price of basics up significantly.
“These rises are hitting the poorest the hardest, as it creates a poverty premium where those on tighter budgets are unable to save by buying in bulk and end up spending more money on food and essentials, as they shop little and often.”
StepChange research found one in seven people had recently skipped meals or gone without a healthy diet in order to keep up with credit repayments – rising to nearly one in three for those on universal credit.
Helen Barnard, the director of policy, research and impact at the Trussell Trust, the food bank network, said: “Inflation is hitting those on the lowest incomes hardest, with the cost of essentials like food and energy – which account for far more of their budget than is the case for people on higher incomes – rising especially steeply.”
Which? has called on grocers to make affordable and healthy basic food ranges available across all of their stores, to ensure offers and promotions support those who are struggling and are targeted at healthy foods, and to make sure their pricing is clear, so that shoppers can easily work out what is the best value.
It welcomed an announcement on Friday that Tesco would be introducing cheaper own-brand range items in its convenience stores, but said more needed to be done, pointing out that own-brand items were still more expensive than budget range items. For example, Tesco own-brand penne pasta is 75p for 500g, but its budget line version is 41p.
Sue Davies, the head of food policy at Which?, said: “Which?’s tracker shows that the cost of essentials like milk and butter is still very high and piling huge pressure on millions.”