Are people finding the price veg is going up on a weekly basis?

eileen

eileen

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I've been shopping today my wheekly veg cost has gone up considerably. I've saved for vet bills.my budget is being squeezed like most others.
I'm going to have to be firm and give 3 veggies aday,and forage more when weather is good.This is having ramifications o the number of piggies I can afford to keep.A fixed income is difficult.
 
I go to Costco for romaine lettuce, carrot, corn, other veggies and fruits. Price definitely has gone up, but what I am noticing is the quality has gone down. Romaine lettuce is much smaller. I have 3 boys and they eat a lot of veggies and fruits. They just love eating.
I have their vet bills saved up, but if they eat anymore, they will use up their savings.
 
Poor weather in Europe has let to smaller than usual veg such as Romaine lettuce and the shortage of veg that is tailing off now. I’ve noticed better veg coming through lately. It’s still expensive but then everything is and the supermarkets like to screw as much money as they can out of us before they are forced to reduce their prices (though they deny it).
 
I've noticed over the last few months that if you have a loyalty card for a certain supermarket that certain items are the same price as they always used to be for a few weeks and then they hike the price up of that item and lower the price of something else for loyalty card holders. For those people who don't like loyalty cards or don't shop in the same supermarket often enough, they have to pay full price for everything. For example, it always used to be 2 packs of 6 slices of ham for £3.50 now you can only get that if you have a loyalty card, otherwise you have to pay full price. It almost forces you to have a loyalty card whether you want one or not.
 
In the beginning I found things had only gone up by a few pence but now it seems to be at least 50% on most veg. I'm only buying cucumbers and peppers at the moment and shopping in Aldi. They are having grass as their main 'veg' supplemented with some veg and herbs I have growing in the garden plus dandelion, sow thistle, cleavers etc (I've stopped weeding!). I'm also not taking in any more piggies as we say goodbye to our oldies.
 
Cucumbers have double in price along with serious price rises of everything else. I’m giving fresh forage/grass and buying slightly less veggies at the moment. They actually prefer the forage anyway
 
I've had to double the weekly food budget since last year, admittedly I'm lucky that I could and we do have another mouth to feed as well. That doesn't include sundries as I try to get them in bulk if I can. Every time I book a shopping delivery shop I say "I'll add more than the basics later so I don't get charged for being under minimum spend", and every time I'm easily over the £40 before I've even done a proper meal plan. It's disheartening.
 
Our food budget is horrifying now. I have 15 & 17 yo boys and the older one in particular eats like a horse. He trains a lot and so stands with the fridge door open looking for snacks whilst munching his way through a packet of sausage rolls as he considers his options 😬

Last month I spent £105 on a click and collect but had missed a couple of bits so I went in store to get them and spent another £35 😳
 
Tigermoth said:
Our food budget is horrifying now. I have 15 & 17 yo boys and the older one in particular eats like a horse. He trains a lot and so stands with the fridge door open looking for snacks whilst munching his way through a packet of sausage rolls as he considers his options 😬

Last month I spent £105 on a click and collect but had missed a couple of bits so I went in store to get them and spent another £35 😳
Click to expand...
Feel for you, teenage boys are bottomless pits when it comes to food!
 
I find we are eating cheaper food now than we used to and still spending more. Cutting down on the piggie food bill is okay this time of year but it's us people that are more difficult. At least I'm drinking less coffee, I have been buying Aldi's cheapy stuff, it tastes disgusting. :)) We've stopped snacking so much as well which is better for our health!

As for teenage boys, I remember those. My son used to bring half his surf club home with him, they'd empty the cupboards in no time!
 
If you don't already I would recommend growing a tray of grass for your guinea pigs.
Grass can't substitute vegetables but its a nice addition.
I recently started growing grass for mine since my veg bill went up,
and I only have two guinea pigs to feed so I can't imagine what its like for you,

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do
 
I live on my own and only have two piggies to feed but I agree the price of veg has definitely gone up, I'm spending much more than I did a year ago.

I'm also spending more on food generally. When I was working I used to do a weekly shop on Saturdays and if I forgot anything I would just make do with something else until the following week. But since I retired last year I find myself popping into the shops all the time 'just to see what they've got' and then feeling shocked at the amount I've spent. I'm very lucky in that I'm not struggling for money but it's a habit I really want to get out of.
 
The cost is definitely creeping up.

I’m so glad that summer is coming. My rabbits and piggies will get a lot of grass and forage and consequently will reduce the amount of veg they get over the coming months. Any veg they do get will be mostly that which I have grown. With any luck it’ll help towards balancing out when it comes to the colder months and buying more needs to happen again.
 
I've been raiding the reduced sections, I must admit. As well as rotating in more wild plants and forage. I've started growing some things too I need to plant out some beans and I'm getting some tomato plants off a friend at some point as well because they planted a packet of seeds years out of date, assuming not many would grow...48 plants later 🤣

The quality has definitely gone down too, I usually buy spring greens and they last about a week, last ones I bought were mouldy less than 24 hours after purchase!

That being said, if you believe the news, prices have apparently peaked and will slowly start to come down soon.
 
My general food bill has about doubled and as a considerable part of the food shop is for the piggies it does hit hard.
I agree that the general quality is down and there are random shortages.
 
Eriathwen said:
I've been raiding the reduced sections, I must admit. As well as rotating in more wild plants and forage. I've started growing some things too I need to plant out some beans and I'm getting some tomato plants off a friend at some point as well because they planted a packet of seeds years out of date, assuming not many would grow...48 plants later 🤣
Click to expand...

I have a similar issue as your friend, but mine is with peppers! I have 24 bell pepper plants and 24 jalapeno plants. Not sure what I am going to do with all of them!
 
we have certainly noticed our food shop has gone up a fair bit this year , but we do Ocado as I love M&S food and i but all for convenience ! , I know they are not renowned for being for being the cheapest but I’ve just looked back at an order from last July to this week.
Cucumber was 55p now 79p
Little gem was 95p now 85p (I switched brands)
Celery was 75p now 65p
Coriander large bunch was £1.50 now £1.60
Mixed peppers was £1.90 now £2.40

All in all it’s up by 64p each week.. i think the more budget supermarkets have been hit far more than those at the premium end from a price increase perspective, not sure how this compares to prices in the likes of Aldi / Asda/ Tesco but all our veg lasts a week (I have it down to a fine art now and buy exactly what we need!
 
I’m growing some broccoli and rainbow chard this year as the price is going up. It’s honestly scary as I’m really struggling at the moment with bills and the cost of living crisis, I live solo and it’s getting to be very worrying! It’s going up by the weekly at the moment and even this early in the month I’m not quite sure how to go about. Thankfully, the animals I buy in bulk for in tier a of bedding, hah and food, so they’re fine! Wondering if I should try and find somewhere decent to forage dandelions as well.
 
It’s astonishing how much veg has gone up but quality and packet sizes have reduced. I am now growing rainbow chard, dill and a few other bits and pieces, the rainbow chard grows incredibly well and seems to grow overnight, I just sprinkled a few seeds a while back in a large pot and I have tonnes now, really recommend it!
 
Absolutely, prices are sky-rocketing. I'm now using my 'canny shopping' instincts and going from shop to shop to compare prices and getting some veggies in one shop and other veg from another shop. Going to an independent greengrocer, just before closing time, can be rewarding. They often have a few damaged carrots, for example, left in the bottom of a box they will let you have cheaply.
 
I think the whole grocery shop has just sky rocketed, I am feeding 3 and a half (16 + 14) adults and I shop generally in Aldi so including veg for piggies I seem to be averaging £120+ per week, I don't buy anything extravagant, no wine/beer, I've stopped buying some of the snack things the children like as whilst they are only a £1 they all add up, no pre- sliced cheese as it appears to evaporate from the fridge, I think twice about some things as to do we really need it?! I'm only a teaching assistant so most of my monthly wage goes on the food bill currently and not much else! I am going to try and grow salad stuff again for the pigs like I did during Covid but I lack the time (and inclination) to do much more.
 
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