By Tia Rawlings and Travis Smith
Residents in the Holloway area are distressed after food prices in recent months have risen drastically.
Due to the cost of living crisis, supermarket prices have soared dramatically, with many people struggling to afford even basic food items.
Jessica Greenfield, 26, a self-employed beautician said, “My food shop has definitely got more expensive. It’s been difficult, especially since I am a single mum.
“I used to spend around £50 a week on food and now it’s more like £70.”
Prices jump week to week
The fluctuating prices makes food shopping unpredictable for many people, who are witnessing the prices of necessities raise from one week to the next. And sadly, their wages don’t seem to cover the cost of inflation.
October’s inflation rate reached 11.1 percent in October, then dropped to 10.7 in November, making the October figure the highest since 1997, according to the Office for National Statistics.
“My income varies depending on how many of my clients make appointments so this makes it hard to budget particularly when prices are increasing constantly,” said Greenfield.
Can’t afford to buy lunch
Even employees are noticing that their stores aren’t what they used to be, leading to some even having to skip lunch – or bring their own after years of buying it from their workplace
“I used to always buy Meal Deals for my lunch because it was easy and cheap,” said Michael Fernley, 42, who has worked at Tesco for the past six years. “But now I either bring my own lunch or don’t eat on my break at all.”
Photos by Tia Rawlings
Customers are even complaining to the staff about the prices and threatening to go to a more affordable shop even if its further away.
Anita Rodriguez, 37, Sainsbury’s employee said, “When I’m serving customers people make comments about the food prices being too expensive.”
“One person even said I’m going to start shopping at Lidl instead.”
Sainsburys and Tesco are currently battling to beat each others prices. Tesco’s prices have remained at a 13.1% increase since December 2022 whilst Sainsburys has risen by 0.5% according to consumer champion Which?
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