p.s we’re staying put
“Food prices continue to rise sharply forcing people to change their purchasing habits.Food inflation continues to rise at a worrying rate, skyrocketing to 16.4% in October 2022 from 14.6% the previous month according to data from the Office for National Statistics. This remains markedly higher than overall inflation which is sitting at 11.1%.
The ONS calculation for food inflation is based on a collection of products that are not necessarily indicative of what might be typically purchased on a weekly basis or a nutritionally adequate diet. To add insight on how a reasonable weekly shop may be affected by inflationary pressures, The Food Foundation’s Basic Basket Tracker measures weekly price changes of shopping baskets of food that the average man and woman could typically eat as part of a reasonably costed, adequately nutritious diet (see FAQs for further details). Since we began tracking in April, the price of the man's basket has increased by approximately 16% (when taking Clubcard prices in to account), a similar level to overall inflation but in a much shorter time period.
People are increasingly feeling the pressure of rising prices, driving them to change their purchasing habits as a result. Sales of own-label ranges have risen 42% (some of which will be due to increased prices rather than increased volume sales) while in contrast, branded products sales only rose by 0.4% likely indicating a big drop in the volume being purchased. Volumes of vegetables sold fell by over 6%, while sales of snacks and candy rose by almost 4% indicating that the nutritional quality of purchases is also being affected. This move away from healthy foods is no surprise considering that on average they are three times more expensive than less healthy foods per calorie. If these trends continue, this could have serious ramifications for the long-term health of the nation. Both government and the food industry have a significant responsibility in preventing this.”
By Shona Goudie via The Food Foundation
