Yahoo Finance Bread, pasta and cooking oil price rises force millions to cut food portions
The price of the lowest-cost household essential foods like pasta, tea and bread have all gone up "significantly" in the past year, with poorer families hit the hardest.
Almost two in every three (61%) of those in the most deprived areas are buying less food compared to last year, as opposed to 44% in the least deprived areas, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Food and non-alcoholic drink inflation rose by 16.5% in the 12 months to November, the biggest jump since 1977.
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Meanwhile, overall inflation including housing costs (CPIH) fell from 9.6% in October to 9.3% in November.
Staple foods, such as breads and cereals, have seen the largest price increases in the last month, increasing by 1.9%, contributing towards an increase of 16.6% in the year to November.
The ONS said the majority of lowest-cost everyday grocery items have been rising in price, with the cheapest vegetable oil climbing by 65%, pasta jumping by 60%, and tea surging by 46%.
The steep price rise in so many staple food items is causing people to buy less.
More than half (51%) of adults in the UK reported buying less when food shopping in the last two weeks. That has gone up from one in 10 (10%) a year ago.
In addition to buying less food, people are also trying to spend less, with 46% of adults reporting that they were spending less money on food shopping and essentials because of increases in the cost of living.
To save money on food, around three in five (59%) adults reported eating out less, just over half (53%) reported buying cheaper food, while 37% reported buying discounted food.
Around one in six (16%) were somewhat or very worried that their food would run out before they had money to buy more, while 6% said their household had run out of food and could not afford to buy more.
Around one in five (19%) consumers reported eating smaller portions because of the cost of living.
With Christmas just days away, around four in five (81%) said they had concerns about the price of food over the festive season, up from 62% reported in the same period last year.
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Rebecca McDonald, chief economist at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said that government support for people on low incomes should be reassessed to provide a decent quality of life
“The reality is many families are still struggling”, she said on the select committee podcast from the House of Commons, Committee Corridor.
“Even though we’ve managed to prevent things from getting a lot worse this year, the situation before this year came into being was still very bleak.”
Calling for permanent policy change, she asked why the safety net of social security has not been adequate in the current “economic shock” following the pandemic.
“For me, the absolute priority is that we make sure that those who are the most vulnerable and don't have the financial resources themselves to deal with these price rises, to make sure that policy protects them and stops things getting worse for them and ensures that they have a decent quality of life despite these huge shocks,” she said.
