People in the UK are buying more frozen food to keep their costs down, it has been revealed, as figures show UK annual food bills have risen by £1,378.
The average weekly food shop has risen by £26.50, almost three times the national living wage, as it’s revealed that worrying shoppers are turning to the frozen aisles to save money.
The increase means that food shoppers will be spending an additional £1,378 a year on their annual food bill and, according to new research, the rising price of fresh food is worrying 87% of Brits as the cost-of-living crisis starts to impact their shopping habits.
The average household size in the UK means that homeowners are now spending, on average, £132 on their weekly food shop.
With prices rising and Brits feeling the pinch, shoppers have now turned to buy more frozen goods.
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According to the research conducted by Kirsty’s, three quarters of Britons are now buying more frozen products than ever before to save money.
UK shoppers said that, aside from the cost saving, other reasons for this switch to buying frozen is that the food lasts longer (77%), it’s cheaper (60%) and it makes for less fresh food waste (39%).
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Kirsty Henshaw, founder of Kirsty’s said: “The cost-of-living crisis is having a huge impact on shopping habits, and whilst shoppers still like the convenience of chilled meals when making choices for their evening meal, but when it comes to the weekly shop, we are seeing more shoppers than ever buying frozen.
“The increases in costs are also obviously impacting food manufacturers, earlier this year we were prompted to start making frozen meals because of a global free-from manufacturer deciding to no longer serve the UK due to spiraling transport costs.”
Londoners have been hit the hardest when it comes to their food bill with their weekly shop rising £33.20, whilst in the north west shopping bills have risen to an average of £27.40.
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Kirsty’s recently addressed the cost-of-living crisis amongst its own staff and handed all factory-based colleagues a 5% wage increase.
Despite efforts to fend off inflation, British consumers continue to suffer from spiking prices on essentials like grocery shopping.
According to Kantar, food prices reached 13.9% inflation in September 2022 – the highest figure ever recorded
Recent news also shows shoppers are resorting to purchasing discounted produce to help battle price rise with “Tesco Perfectly Imperfect” and “Morrisons Naturally Wonky” sales rising drastically.
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Research from grocery retail app Ubamarket indicates that 60% of shoppers in Britain carry out their weekly food shop across multiple retailers in a bid to keep their expenditures down.
Nonetheless, a shocking 64% of respondents revealed supermarket price matching and on-shelf offers don’t go far enough to alleviate their increasing food bills during the cost-of-living crisis.
Although most retailers have begun national discounts and promotional campaigns, consumers are still finding it hard.
‘Manchester’s best lunch deal’ that’s only available for two hours a day
Daisy Jackson
There’s a cafe in the centre of Manchester that’s had queues all the way down the street thanks to its incredible value lunch deal.
Although it’s been in Spring Gardens for two years now, Meridian has remained one of Manchester’s best-kept secrets online, thanks to its decision to stay totally off social media until recently.
That hasn’t stopped the queues though, and they’re all here for the same thing – a loaded £5.80 lunch box.
Tucked away just off Market Street, Meridian is an unassuming cafe operated by founder Dan.
It’s much more than a coffee shop, with a menu of Asian fusion dishes served in the cafe, as well as for grab-and-go lunches.
The lunch boxes start from just £5.80, which gets you a box absolutely packed to the brim with delicious Chinese and South East Asian items.
You start off with a base of either egg rice fried, chips, or noodles; then lash on a sauce like Malaysian curry, Thai sweet chilli, or satay.
Meridian in ManchesterThe Meridian lunch boxes in Manchester
As for the toppings, there’s a massive list including popcorn salt n chilli chicken, Japanese gyozas, roasted pork ribs, tofu bites, and crispy spicy beef.
Plans officially submitted for ‘vibrant’ new food hall in Wythenshawe
Emily Sergeant
Are you feeling hungry? Good, because a new food hall is on the horizon.
That’s right – plans to transform Wythenshawe Civic have taken another exciting leap forward this week, as Manchester City Council and placemaker Muse have submitted a planning application to bring a brand-new food hall to the town.
Set to be housed within the three units next to the former Peacocks store – which has now been demolished – the new food hall will become a ‘vibrant’ destination for independent and local food vendors to attract people with ‘delicious and diverse’ offerings.
Developers also hope the new food hall will keep the suburban Manchester town’s centre ‘bustling’ throughout the day and into the evening.
The announcement that the new food hall is in the works comes as part of the already-announced plans for Wythenshawe Civic – with work to soon begin on everything from the public realm, and outside space, to the vacant office space above the existing Iceland-store, which will also be transformed into modern new workspace to support local start-ups and bring new jobs into the town centre.
Developers also recently submitted three separate applications to create 422 new affordable homes for social rent across three locations in the town centre.
“Listening to local people over the last year and more, we know that Wythenshawe residents want more from their town centre – more things to do, opportunities to spend time in Civic and night time attractions that give the area a lift and attract visitors,” commented Cllr Bev Craig, who is the Leader of Manchester City Council.
“This is the drive behind the Culture Hub. A place for local people with an interest in the arts to take part in creative activities, see a show or enjoy the cinema space – right in the heart of their community.
“This is another exciting chapter in the transformation of Wythenshawe Town Centre.”
Joel Chandler, who is the Senior Development Manager at Muse, added that developers are ‘moving at pace’ with plans to give the town centre the ‘regeneration it deserves’.
“The food hall will be a hive for a range of local outlets and will provide new spaces for the community to spend time in and give the town’s nighttime economy a major boost.”
Georgina Pellant -
18th October 2022 
