Innovative Ideas for More Affordable Food
Food banks across England have become lifelines for families, who struggle to put food on the table. Rising costs and uncertain incomes mean more people than ever rely on these centres for their next meal.
While tinned food, pasta, and rice make up the bulk of many donations, there are a few alternatives that can be add-on helpers, and relieve the pressure on food bank volunteers.
Read our post on unique ways to feed hungry people. And food safety for people and pets.
Jack’s Response to Rising Food Prices
Food poverty campaigner Jack Monroe recently launched her own Vimes Index, saying that supermarkets had used inflation as a cover to raise the prices of everyday goods (like apples) but kept existing prices for luxury goods (like champagne).
Jack was recently contacted by an elderly gentleman who had eaten a teaspoon of toothpaste for his dinner, to fool himself into thinking he had eaten something.
Tesco responded by saying their own prices are affected by rising energy prices. But this is because big supermarkets use oil from lorries (bringing foods from central distribution houses miles away (that are heated by oil) and many foods are made from factory-farmed animals (powered by fossil fuels) and palm oil (lots of oil to fly them to England from Indonesia).
That’s why walkable shops that sell seasonal foods is a good idea.
The Vimes Boots Index is a warning shot to retailers who keep their £7.50 ready meals and £6 bottles of wine at the same price for a decade, while quadrupling the price of basic stock cubes and broken irregular grains of white rice. This issue isn’t going anywhere, and neither am I. Jack Monroe
Tins with ring-pulls tend to belong to those with slightly more disposable income. Look at the Basics and Value ranges, next time you are in the supermarket. You will see that they require a tin opener, to get into them.
Why Don’t Supermarkets Simply Charge Less?
Of course, some sceptics would argue that the major supermarkets (which have put up the price of apples proportionally more than the price of champagne) have a lot to answer for. They only put ‘special offers’ on junk food (you’ll never see special promotions on broccoli!)
If supermarkets really cared about feeding the poor, they would make less profits, by selling more ‘real food’. The best way to save money on food, is to learn to cook your own meals with everyday ingredients.
American food campaigner Michael Pollan writes that if you visit any supermarket, you’ll always see that the ‘everyday staples’ like bread and milk are at the far end of the store, with all the junk-food goods on the aisles you have to pass. He says you’ll always find expensive sugary cereals at eye level, and lowly porridge on the bottom. Have a look – he’s right.
Shops, bakeries, wholesalers and cafes are all signing up to Karma Fridge, a pink vending machine that lets small business sell of unsold food at closing time.
So sandwiches that would be binned, get a ‘second life’ at half price or more until midnight, then they expire. Some companies are making tens of thousands of pounds, by letting local people eat unsold food, at huge discounts.
In North America, Flashfood is similar, but this time works as an app. Users have saved thousands off their grocery bills, by purchasing food about to go out-of-date.
Food banks have good heart. But there are better ways to feed hungry people, then buying junk food in tins, to throw in a bin. This is not just not fresh, but generates yet more profits for big unethical food brands and supermarkets.
Some even let you ‘buy food for others’ online, and it’s pretty certain they are not giving all the profits from bought tinned back to food bank charities.
Having said that, Jack Monroe (who used food banks when living on £10 a week for her and her toddler son) says at one time, she lived mostly on tinned food. And like during rationing times, it can be a good option, if done well. She even wrote a book of tinned recipes (many are vegan). Her recipe blog lists the price per serving of each meal. We had a quick look and found:
- Tomato & Bean Soup (19p)
- Salad Bag Pesto (9p)
- Berry Bread Pudding (11p)
- Salted Caramel Banana Shake (16p)
- Red Lentil & Mandarin Curry (26p)
- Pumble (pie/crumble) at 20p
- Carrot, Cumin & Kidney Bean Burger (17p)
So you see, these meals likely cost less than the cost of a bus fare to visit the nearest food bank (and receive budget tins of stew or beans).
The Conversation wants supermarkets to practice ‘price-discounting’, rather than wait until the last minute, before bringing down prices of food that’s about to go out-of-date. For example, M & S do nice plant-based meals, but they are very expensive.
If you visit near day’s end, you may find some items at half price. But an hour or so before (just hours before going out-of-date), the meal will still be full-price.
Some say that supermarkets have the added benefit of ‘donating food’ like brown spotty bananas, to make space on shelves for green/yellow bananas, which sell better. So generate more profit.
In France, it’s illegal for supermarkets to throw out unsold food. By law, they have to give all unsold produce to food banks and charities. Enough food is thrown out each year in the world, to feed every single hungry person on earth.
What is a Food Desert?
If you live in an urban suburb, you likely live in one. Food deserts are thought to affect millions of people in England, who would benefit from a service like that offered above, in Canada. Even if you don’t live in one, you know the story:
These are places where it’s mostly houses and perhaps a community centre and recreation park. And the ‘local food shop’ is a NISA or similar ‘small grocer’ that perhaps sells some frozen chips and pizza, crisps and coke – and not much else.
So if you are elderly or disabled (and have no car nor the money to spend £50 minimum a week at Tesco online), you end up in a food desert, unless there’s a community garden nearby.
A study recently found that around 10% of people living in impoverished areas live in ‘food deserts’. It basically means there are no ‘proper food shops’ within walking distance.
The big supermarkets don’t set up here, they are more out-of-town where they get all the car customers. So the people who live here (especially if there is not good public transport) end up paying far higher prices for their daily essentials like bread. And it won’t be good bread at that.
It’s a bit like making poor people pay more for TV licenses or electric meters, because they don’t have the money to pay upfront or do a ‘big shop’.
They can’t shop online, because the minimum spend is above what they can afford. And often people in these areas (especially older people) don’t have laptops or mobile phones anyway.
This has a knock-on effect. Because communities that live on pizza and chips (and you can’t make a lentil bolognese or salad, if local shops don’t sell lentils or lettuce) leads to obesity and other health problems like diabetes. And that means people suffer, and the NHS has more budget problems.
‘Isolated communities’ also lead to higher crime, due to a lack of community interaction. The US term of ‘placemaking’ finds that when local food comes to town, people feel more inclusive. They eat better, feel better and act better (and don’t drop litter!)
A food desert, is any area where it’s impossible to buy fresh fruits or vegetables, within a one-mile radius. Jason Diakité
A Low-Cost Zero Waste Supermarket
Despite its ‘posh image’, obviously some people in Berkshire struggle financially. A great idea here is True Food Co-op, an ethically-run zero waste supermarket, where members pay a one-off £5 fee for exclusive discounts (volunteers also earn up to 15% discount off food).
The shop has a zero-waste refill station, organic alcohol and orange stickers for value basics, to help people on tight budgets. These are not ‘cheap inferior products’ but organic foods that still work out cheaper than the same brands in major supermarkets.
As members have shares in the shop, you can order in anything you like (if it comes in a pack, they’ll sell the rest in the shop). Read more on surplus supermarkets.
Katy’s Budget-Friendly Pantry Book
Vegan Pantry is a book of 100 tasty recipes, based around 10 staple ingredients (including canned tomatoes and citrus fruits). This helps to not just save money but stops food waste. All you need add are fruits and vegetables, and a few other kitchen staples.
Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets.
If you don’t like cookbooks that require you to find 10 different shops to buy the ingredients, then you’ll love Katy’s books! Her latest offering shows a real understanding that most people don’t live near swanky farm shops (and if they do, can’t afford the prices).
Recipes include:
- Baked Bean Waffle Pie
- Cinnamon & Hazelnut Granola
- Garlic Mushroom Sausages with Creamy Mash
- Creamy Chickpea, Sage & Kale Soup
- Cacio e Pepe-style Butter Beans
- Cauliflower Mac & Cheese
- Fennel & Grapefruit Salad
- Date, Chickpea & Lemon Tagine
- Corn-on-the-cob
There are always plenty of delicious desserts in Katy’s book! The simple affordable ones in this book include:
- Limoncello Tiramisu
- Pistachio, Mango & Coconut Kulfi
- Vegan Creme Brulee
Consider shopping at fruit and vegetable markets, for good prices on seasonal produce. Overheads are less than supermarket chains, so savings can be passed onto the consumer. Be cautious of coupons and vouchers, and purchase only what you will actually use, no matter what the discount.
Tonnes of cooked rice are wasted due to overestimating volumes of uncooked rice (90g of uncooked rice will serve one person – chill unused rice in the fridge for up to 24 hours and thoroughly reheat before serving).
Author Katy Beskow is one of England’s best-selling vegan cookbook authors. She learned to cook while studying in London, and returning to Yorkshire, she began creating affordable no-nonsense recipes, with her blog leading to the first cookbook, and now there’s an army of books!
