Scottish Government Proposes Price Cap On Essential Foods

nanna8

75p for a sliced loaf? What a joke. You don’t know how good you have it. I am green with envy. Try $5 and that is just an ordinary one here. Food in the UK is already very cheap. Really.

Ah, but as we’ve said so many times before, it’s all relative and it’s not enough to simply look at the price of food.

Cossy

Lathyrus3

I think its an interesting idea that could show real health benefits.

However, looking at people's family shops in their trolleys, I’m not sure how much they use basic foodstuffs.

Mostly theres a lot of ready meals and snacks.

Personally, I think your last comment is a gross exaggeration and a big insult to many families!!

Its not an insult. Its an observation.

Moral indignation wont change whats in the trolleys.

It is what it is.

If you really want to help you have to work with reality not idealism.

Lathyrus3

I think its an interesting idea that could show real health benefits.

However, looking at people's family shops in their trolleys, I’m not sure how much they use basic foodstuffs.

Mostly theres a lot of ready meals and snacks.

Judge not....

None of my adult children buy ready meals. However, you wouldn't know what they eat, because their food is delivered. Many working families do this.
They do not push a trolley around a supermarket.

I agree. Reality matters. We've endlessly debated on here how people could cook healthier meals more cheaply but the reality seems that the poorest in our communities actually choose other priorities for their money. Debating why that should be would be interesting.

I’m not judging. I’m observing and just posted what I see.

People have reasons for using ready meals. They have reasons for needing snack foods.

It’s no use capping “the basics” if the basics aren’t what people buy and use and eat. Better to cap what they do actually eat if you want to help them financially.

If you want to improve health as well that’ll need some thinking about because you’ll need to combine quick and easy with nutrition.

You can be a virtuous “rescuer” of those you think need your speaking up for them. Or you can treat them like real people who have a say in how they want to live.

Paddyann54
You have no idea of what's actually going on for the majority of folk. I am sick hearing about this for poverty, that for poverty. At times I think I must be a millionaire as the only benefit I collect is a state pension.
Have you looked at the deterioration of education, the terrible state of NHS (I can give you real life examples of how bad it is), public services (2 hourly bus service just to go to bus terminus to get a bus to a hospital or to get another bus to hospital depending on which end of county hospital is located. No bus to Drs, dentist, church, community centre and I live in a town. Emergency services, never been so low in morale, numbers, and funding. 20 years of SNP chaos and you think it's all down to Tories. The free bus fares for youngsters has caused problems with the young using them to party in. Why is it a 16 year old is regarded in legal and educational matters as a child basically not realising the repercussions of actions yet in Scotland can vote in Local Elections helping influence other peoples lives. Says it all about SNP, will do anything to get a vote.

Gosh, I'm not a virtuous rescuer I hope.

The whole ready meal debate is complicated.

So much gone wrong, it's overwhelming really.

butterandjam

JenniRen

"Look at your own government"

Do you mean the UK Government? I thought Scotland returned 57 MPs to Westminster?

Then you are seriously misinformed.

There are 129 MSPs in the Scottish Parliament and 57 MPs at Westminster representing Scottish constituencies .
How is JenniRen misinformed?

Just wondering the same, MawsRosie

When I last looked, there were 57 Members of Parliament representing Scottish Constituencies elected to Westminster in 2024:

37 Labour
8 SNP
6 Conservative
6 Liberal Democrat

Perhaps they've all resigned since I posted earlier today.

"It's caused by global issues beyond the control of UK supermarkets or farmers. A combination of higher fuel costs, higher fertiliser costs, higher animal feed costs and climate change ."

"Farmers will only produce food if they can make a living from it."

Sadly true and it could get worse with changes in climate.
It's not just here, it's a global issue.

People in this country spend a relatively low proportion of their income on food in comparison to many other countries.

Excuse grammar, that popup keeps overriding my post.

JenniRen

"It's caused by global issues beyond the control of UK supermarkets or farmers. A combination of higher fuel costs, higher fertiliser costs, higher animal feed costs and climate change ."

"Farmers will only produce food if they can make a living from it."

Sadly true and it could get worse with changes in climate.
It's not just here, it's a global issue.

People in this country spend a relatively low proportion of their income on food in comparison to many other countries.

Maybe they spend what they can afford on food?

In terms of all supermarket trolleys being filled with snacks and ready meals, is this all that’s in these trolleys?

Close family (by marriage) live on low incomes. Mum no longer works due to medical issues, but she does have a motorbility car and she uses to shop at Aldi, Lidle and farm foods. She cooks fresh meals from scratch every day. She has a large family and simply cannot afford “ready meals” she buys fresh veg in season and combines them with either mince or chicken.

She gets supplies of frozen vegs, like peas and sweet corn, and treats like ice-cream from farm foods.

Lots of younger people, (she’s 46), can and do bother to cook. She uses and eats eggs, cheese and lots of jacket potatoes and buys fruit when it’s the end of the day and supermarkets mark these products down.

It’s disingenuous to suggest many people live how you might be suggesting.

Personally when I’m in a supermarket, not very often, as we have our shopping delivered, I’m normally to busy trying to get out d the shop to be noting what everyone else has in their trolleys.

greyfur16

Gosh, I'm not a virtuous rescuer I hope.

The whole ready meal debate is complicated.

So much gone wrong, it's overwhelming really.

Perhaps she meant me? Good old virtual signalling again?

"Maybe they spend what they can afford on food?"

Other factors will be relative, of course, such as the cost of housing, fuel prices etc.

But the fact remains that we in this country do spend a much lower percentage of income on food.
Foo prices are going to rise too.

Honestly I am sick to death of the SNP bad stories

Maybe if they had some decent policies the ‘SNP bad stories’ would stop.

When the SNP doesn’t know what’s going on in its own back garden, people have the right to complain how they spaff money on baby boxes that have produced no measurable improvement in children’s lives, have given another half a million quid to Gaza, squander yet more money on school bags (four different colours, doncha know!) for all P1 children and numerous other giveaways to those who want to live a life filled with freebies. All paid for by those who can be bothered to get out of bed each morning and end up being clobbered by higher and higher taxes for daring to be hardworking and aspirational. By the way, what did happen to all the free laptops and bicycles the SNP said they’d dole out?? Still sitting in warehouses, I was told.

The old "cook from scratch" argument has been done to death.
I've eaten probably two ready meals in my life; can't afford them and think they're awful anyway.

Cossy

greyfur16

Gosh, I'm not a virtuous rescuer I hope.

The whole ready meal debate is complicated.

So much gone wrong, it's overwhelming really.

Perhaps she meant me? Good old virtual signalling again?

Anybody who leaps to the defence of people they consider somehow in need of their defence.

It seems to be to be much more of a judgement of those people as inferior and in need of superior support than my simple observation of the choices they make.

The suggested “basics” were mostly things you can buy cheaply anyway and required time and energy (personal and purchased).

Im willing to bet nobody has asked these “struggling families” what exactly they are struggling to buy. Im guessing it wont be the suggested rice - 72p for a kilo.

Cooking from scratch is only for those who can afford it.Those in poverty are not buying ready meals from supermarkets, far too expensive. They are buying food from Take away shops on rundown shopping parades in the areas where poverty is endemic.

These are places the majority of us ever do more than drive past. McDonalds, the creme de la creme of fast food take away chains charges £1. 39 for a cheeseburger, £2 59 for a double cheeseburger, sausage sandwich with brown sauce £1.99. they also do smaller portions that are even cheaper.

Now,as I say, Mc Donalds is the top of the tree fast food retailer. Now think what a burger chicken or kebab shop on a rundown urban parade charges for much poorer quality food, from unknown destinations where death was a sweet relief to every chicken or other animal.

Yes, I am sure there are people on GN who could provide food for a family of 4, 3 good meals a day for less than £30 a week, but at that point you need to be a very skilled and inventive cook, with the time to spend searching for bargains and cooking it. Assuming that your cooking facilities stretch to more than a microwave.

Those in poverty lack both the time - they are often in employment and juggling several part time jobs - or in ill health.

There's a whole list of things people who are struggling, struggle with.
Carrying huge bags of potatoes to make as jackets. Or perhaps spending three or four pounds on the bus?
Storing these big bags of veg, rice, potatoes etc, and of course, keeping them fresh.
If I buy four potatoes for jackets, two of them will be beginning to turn green or sprout after just four or five days.
Having a freezer to store all these batch cooked wonder meals, or even a cooker for some people.
Its not as simple as deciding not to eat rice.

His thinking was obviously directed at families.

Its a good point that a lot of those who are struggling with the cost of food are single people who cant afford economies of scale. Its often difficult to eat a variety of fruit or vegetables because you gave to eat the same thing fir several days to use ot up.

Ive often walked away from a food purchase because the price for a small quantity is so much higher than for a large amount or because I don't want the large amount.

MissAdventure

There's a whole list of things people who are struggling, struggle with.
Carrying huge bags of potatoes to make as jackets. Or perhaps spending three or four pounds on the bus?
Storing these big bags of veg, rice, potatoes etc, and of course, keeping them fresh.
If I buy four potatoes for jackets, two of them will be beginning to turn green or sprout after just four or five days.
Having a freezer to store all these batch cooked wonder meals, or even a cooker for some people.
Its not as simple as deciding not to eat rice.

Well said.

It's so easy if you have a supermarket 10 yards away or a car, a freezer, the means to cook other than microwave.