Supermarkets Are you shocked at rising food prices at the tills?

Zoe Wood hears how readers are balancing their family food budgets, from buying own brands to cutting right back on the weekly shop

- Zoe Wood

“Food prices are ridiculous, but it’s the fact they are still rising that is keeping me awake at night,” says Nikki of the strain caused by higher grocery bills.

The mother of two from Aberdeenshire adds: “My weekly shop with in-between top-ups now costs in excess of £220 and is fast becoming unaffordable. Before 2020, I was spending £135 a week.”

The family’s food costs are also affected by the need to buy “free from” products, which have become even more expensive.

“I have two children with coeliac disease, so they cannot eat anything containing gluten,” Nikki says. They are unable to save money by opting for no-frills products as these “nearly always contain wheat as a filler”.

While the cost of living crisis is no longer at the top of the news agenda, for many Britons it is worse than ever, particularly when confronted with the price of even a small basket of groceries at the till.

When Karen recently posted on X a picture of her four neatly packed shopping bags with the caption: “£98!!! At Aldi no booze included & only meat is sliced for a sandwich & a chicken to roast 6 months ago this would have been £70! Cost of living is just ridiculous”, the post went viral.

Other Britons have taken to posting videos of their shops on TikTok as they become exasperated about their food bills.

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday showed UK inflation was unchanged last month at 3.8%. A breakdown of the figure offered some light at the end of the tunnel, as annual food price inflation eased from 5.1% in August to 4.5% - the first time it has slowed since March.

Even though overall inflation is well below the 41-year-high of 11.1% recorded three years ago, the cumulative effect of rising prices means essentials such as groceries cost a lot more than they used to.