How to save on YOUR food shopping bills during crisis

AS the pressure on our finances continues to grow to unprecedented levels, we have all tightened our purse strings, but have we done everything we can to save money at the tills?

In the past few months, we have become savvier at comparing prices of different products, checking the price per pound and considering alternatives to our usual purchases but are there options that we haven’t yet thought of that might help us save even further.

Bulk Buying

During the peak of the pandemic bulk buying meant toilet rolls, pasta and rice, and although many people went over the top causing shortages, we could save money by buying certain products in bigger quantities.

What we buy really depends on our home set-up but as a rule of thumb the best things to buy are the things we use most often and in large quantities.

Dalston mum-of-three Helen Kirkpatrick keeps her shopping costs down by buying in bulk. “We get through loads of pasta, rice, tinned tomatoes and cheese so always buy those in catering size packs as I know we will use them. I also buy meat this way and just freeze in smaller portions ready to use.”

For a large family shopping in this way can save time as the frequent trips to the supermarket can be reduced, which is a definite advantage with the current high fuel costs. It’s also far kinder to the environment as the packaging waste is significantly lessened, plus we’re reducing the opportunity to impulse buy things we don’t actually need.

Buying in bulk will almost always offer a cheaper price per unit of the product but there are also some pitfalls to watch out for. As well as items that work well to buy in larger quantities there are equally products to avoid buying lots of.

Bulk buying fresh fruit and vegetables, cooked meats, fish and dairy can prove to be an expensive mistake. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) British households produced 6.7million tonnes of food waste in 2021 which equates to £10.2 billion. The most wasted fresh foods were potatoes, bread, milk, bananas and salad.

Reading date information on products is also key as we may be throwing away perfectly good food without realising it. Use-by and Best-before mean very different things. Use-by means use by the date and after this throw away to prevent danger to health, whereas Best-before is advisory and requires a little common sense from the consumer. It’s usually found on items like tins, frozen meals, biscuits and cereals.

In addition to wastage, we must also think about where all the bulk bought products will be stored. Is there available cupboard and freezer space for storing food products, and where will the 200 toilet rolls live so that they are accessible but not in the way of our daily lives?

Bulk buying also has a financial impact on the weekly budget as buying in large quantities requires a substantial outlay in one go, so it’s not for everyone.

Kim Bradshaw, Zero Pantry Owner - Photo credit Claire Benson

Zero Waste Shops

Not always somewhere you’d automatically think of going to save money, but as these stores are becoming more prevalent on the high street, they are an amazingly affordable choice to consider not only for our bank balance but also for the environment.

The idea is a simple one. Take your own jars, plastic tubs, bottles and bags and fill them with the amount of produce needed. This can be a small or large amount and the charge is simply for the weight of the item, minus the weight of the container.

Kim Bradshaw opened The Zero Pantry in Kirkby Lonsdale in August 2020, and she sells a large range of zero waste products. As well as the food products you’d expect to find she also stocks herbs and spices, cleaning products, toiletries, re-usable sanitary products and a range of specifically designed eco goods such as laundry eggs.

Although customers do bulk buy some products, she is finding that people are tending to just buy what they need weekly to save money. “Customers are living week by week at the moment and purchase a wide variety of produce whilst keeping within their budget,” Explained Kim. “We are all having to think carefully about how we spend our money, and the advantage of a zero waste shop is that you can buy very small quantities of supplies (such as spices) in order to make versatile and flavoursome food.”

Shopping with no packaging waste - Photo credit Claire Benson

“The biggest problem I and other zero waste stores have is the pre-conceived idea that we are expensive, but that just isn’t the case anymore,” explained Kim. “Yes, some eco products may cost marginally more, but everyday items are at competitive prices that are comparable with supermarkets. By using refillable containers customers are not only saving themselves money but significantly reducing the amount of landfill waste.”

DEFRA data showed that in 2021 Cumbrian households generated 127,000 tonnes of household waste as well as a further 117,000 tonnes of recyclable waste so it is clear that reducing our packaging use by considering different ways to shop will be beneficial to the environment as well as our pockets.