'It makes it hard to feed your family healthy food': Families lament over supermarket prices across the country
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If you found yourself wincing at the checkout lately, you're not alone.
Across Australia, shoppers sounded the alarm about the relentless rise in grocery prices, and it's not just a matter of a few extra dollars.
For many families and retirees, the weekly shop has recently become a source of stress.
Some shoppers have been forced to make tough choices about what goes in their trolley and what gets left behind.
Sydney-based mum Britany Shaw recently shared her story in an interview outside Marrickville Metro.
Ms Shaw has seen increments of $100 on her weekly shop for the past three weeks.
'When we were a family of three, I used to spend about $60 on grocery shopping for a week for us,' Ms Shaw prefaced.
'Now I'm spending $400 per week for four. The most expensive part is the vegetables. Last week, I spent $17 on one carton of eggs.'
'And that's just your fruit and veggies, nappies, toilet paper, just regular stuff. There's not even that much in there,' she emphasised.
'It makes it hard to feed your family healthy food unless you want to spend thousands of dollars.'
Ms Shaw's husband has been working seven consecutive night shifts to keep the family afloat.
In addition, the family has been paying weekly rent of $850 for a two-bedroom unit in the city.
Due to these factors, Ms Shaw's family decided to leave Sydney behind and move to Queensland for a more affordable life.
Another Sydney-based mum, Kasia Pieszko, stated that her family's weekly grocery bill could reach up to $600.
'We find we are limiting our social life to make up for it, especially now that I haven't been working for three years,' Ms Pieszko shared.
'We do buy quite premium, organic produce, especially for the kids.'
'We like high-welfare products, so we do allow quite a big budget for our food. It can range between $500 and $600 per week,' she added.
'I was having a conversation with my partner where we decided we needed to start being really mindful of our spending: like, focus more on our grocery shop and not do any frivolous spending on things like a coffee here, and croissant there.'
Even so, she's shocked by the price of organic strawberries, now $8.50 a punnet.
'We try to wait until the staples like coffee, nappies, wet wipes go half price and then we stock up,' she explained.
However, even with careful planning, the costs keep climbing.
Mirjana Rajic, who lives with her parents and young son, shared that her grocery haul worth $300 barely lasts two days.
'I find myself struggling a lot more. We don't always eat meat,' Ms Rajic emphasised.
'I buy what I need for my son, and I just have whatever he eats.'
Why are prices so high?
While overall inflation has eased to 2.4 per cent, the cost of staple foods continues to climb.
Eggs have jumped by 18.6 per cent in the past year due to a bird flu outbreak.
Fruit and vegetable prices are up 6.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, with recent floods in New South Wales, dairy prices are expected to rise.
Joe Bradley, the president of dairy farmers' group eastAUSmilk, warned that milk prices will have to increase to $2 per litre soon.
On the other hand, electricity prices are set to rise by up to 9.7 per cent in some areas starting Tuesday, 1 July.
For many, it's a perfect storm of rising costs across the board.
How are Aussies coping?
For some, the answer is to shop around—literally.
Retiree Angelo Papas managed to stretch $300 of groceries for over two weeks.
Mr Papas, who also cares for his mother, constantly visits three different supermarkets to find the best deals.
'I would say my grocery costs have gone up about 30 per cent in a year,' Mr Papas shared.
'There isn't a lot I can do about it.'
Others have also been cutting back on social outings, switching to cheaper brands, or simply going without.
Some families also consider moving interstate in search of a more affordable life, just like Ms Shaw.
What's driving the increases?
Multiple factors have brought about the rising costs across the country.
Weather events like droughts and floods have disrupted supply chains and reduced meat and dairy production.
Bird flu outbreaks have decimated egg and poultry supplies due to culling.
Meanwhile, broader economic factors, like increased demand for housing and the transition to renewable energy, have been pushing up costs across the board.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insisted that renewables are the cheapest form of new energy.
However, critics argued that the transition has contributed to higher prices.
The opposition also pointed out that high demand, network outages, and low renewable generation could be key drivers of rising electricity costs.
With all these factors in play, it's undeniable that the cost of living crisis is upon Aussies.
Whether you're waiting for prices to come down or have been considering moving to a more affordable location, seniors should be able to afford essentials with no worries.
Have you noticed a spike in your grocery bills recently? Have you considered any of the alternatives mentioned by the mums in the article? Share your stories, frustrations, and money-saving tips in the comments below.
Across Australia, shoppers sounded the alarm about the relentless rise in grocery prices, and it's not just a matter of a few extra dollars.
For many families and retirees, the weekly shop has recently become a source of stress.
Some shoppers have been forced to make tough choices about what goes in their trolley and what gets left behind.
Sydney-based mum Britany Shaw recently shared her story in an interview outside Marrickville Metro.
Ms Shaw has seen increments of $100 on her weekly shop for the past three weeks.
Seniors who live on fixed incomes have been significantly hit by these price increases. Image Credit: Pexels/Centre for Ageing Better
'When we were a family of three, I used to spend about $60 on grocery shopping for a week for us,' Ms Shaw prefaced.
'Now I'm spending $400 per week for four. The most expensive part is the vegetables. Last week, I spent $17 on one carton of eggs.'
'And that's just your fruit and veggies, nappies, toilet paper, just regular stuff. There's not even that much in there,' she emphasised.
'It makes it hard to feed your family healthy food unless you want to spend thousands of dollars.'
Ms Shaw's husband has been working seven consecutive night shifts to keep the family afloat.
In addition, the family has been paying weekly rent of $850 for a two-bedroom unit in the city.
Due to these factors, Ms Shaw's family decided to leave Sydney behind and move to Queensland for a more affordable life.
Another Sydney-based mum, Kasia Pieszko, stated that her family's weekly grocery bill could reach up to $600.
'We find we are limiting our social life to make up for it, especially now that I haven't been working for three years,' Ms Pieszko shared.
'We do buy quite premium, organic produce, especially for the kids.'
'We like high-welfare products, so we do allow quite a big budget for our food. It can range between $500 and $600 per week,' she added.
'I was having a conversation with my partner where we decided we needed to start being really mindful of our spending: like, focus more on our grocery shop and not do any frivolous spending on things like a coffee here, and croissant there.'
Even so, she's shocked by the price of organic strawberries, now $8.50 a punnet.
'We try to wait until the staples like coffee, nappies, wet wipes go half price and then we stock up,' she explained.
However, even with careful planning, the costs keep climbing.
Mirjana Rajic, who lives with her parents and young son, shared that her grocery haul worth $300 barely lasts two days.
'I find myself struggling a lot more. We don't always eat meat,' Ms Rajic emphasised.
'I buy what I need for my son, and I just have whatever he eats.'
Why are prices so high?
While overall inflation has eased to 2.4 per cent, the cost of staple foods continues to climb.
Eggs have jumped by 18.6 per cent in the past year due to a bird flu outbreak.
Fruit and vegetable prices are up 6.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, with recent floods in New South Wales, dairy prices are expected to rise.
Joe Bradley, the president of dairy farmers' group eastAUSmilk, warned that milk prices will have to increase to $2 per litre soon.
On the other hand, electricity prices are set to rise by up to 9.7 per cent in some areas starting Tuesday, 1 July.
For many, it's a perfect storm of rising costs across the board.
How are Aussies coping?
For some, the answer is to shop around—literally.
Retiree Angelo Papas managed to stretch $300 of groceries for over two weeks.
Mr Papas, who also cares for his mother, constantly visits three different supermarkets to find the best deals.
'I would say my grocery costs have gone up about 30 per cent in a year,' Mr Papas shared.
'There isn't a lot I can do about it.'
Others have also been cutting back on social outings, switching to cheaper brands, or simply going without.
Some families also consider moving interstate in search of a more affordable life, just like Ms Shaw.
What's driving the increases?
Multiple factors have brought about the rising costs across the country.
Weather events like droughts and floods have disrupted supply chains and reduced meat and dairy production.
Bird flu outbreaks have decimated egg and poultry supplies due to culling.
Meanwhile, broader economic factors, like increased demand for housing and the transition to renewable energy, have been pushing up costs across the board.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insisted that renewables are the cheapest form of new energy.
However, critics argued that the transition has contributed to higher prices.
The opposition also pointed out that high demand, network outages, and low renewable generation could be key drivers of rising electricity costs.
With all these factors in play, it's undeniable that the cost of living crisis is upon Aussies.
Whether you're waiting for prices to come down or have been considering moving to a more affordable location, seniors should be able to afford essentials with no worries.
