ISLE OF WIGHT FAMILIES PAY LESS THAN POMPEY RESIDENTS FOR WEEKLY FOOD SHOP

The cost of food in the UK continues to rise, but does the postcode lottery apply when it comes to how much we spend on our food? It’s actually cheaper to shop on the Isle of Wight than it is just across the water in Portsmouth, latest figures have revealed.

A recent study by Compare My Mobile has uncovered the cheapest and most expensive places to buy the most popular weekly food shop items in the UK.

Of the towns and cities analysed, the study revealed that the Isle of Wight is amongst one of the cheapest places for families to buy food. The Island ranked the 3rd most affordable, whilst nearby Bournemouth ranked in the top 5 most expensive places along with London, Leeds and Edinburgh.

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A shopping basket full of the most common shopping items costs families on the Isle of Wight, on average, £42.83 per week. If the same items were purchased in Portsmouth the groceries total would hit £43.84, equating to a saving of £52.42 a year for Islanders.

In comparison, despite being just down the M27 corridor from Portsmouth, shopping in Southampton is around £2.26 cheaper each week than the Isle of Wight and £3.27 cheaper than Portsmouth. That means those living in Southampton save £117.52 a year compared to those across the Solent here on the Island.

In the study of the towns and cities listed, Isle of Wight also ranked the 4th most expensive place to buy milk, whilst residents in Cardiff can buy the same for 15% less. The Isle of Wight also ranked amongst the most affordable towns for weekly essentials like bread, eggs and cheese. Meat costs almost 1.5 x less for shoppers on the Island versus those living in London.

Isle of Wight vs 10 towns and cities in the UK:

There has been a shift over recent years with the nation’s relationship with food. The UK population are becoming increasingly more conscious about the types of food they consume, from production to the cost of our favourite food items. According to the latest figures from NHS England 29% of adults in the UK are classified as obese and there were 10,660 hospital admissions directly attributable to obesity. There were also 711,000 hospital admissions where obesity was a factor, an increase of 15% compared to 2016/17.

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Further findings from the study uncovered that the Isle of Wight is amongst one of the cheapest places to enjoy a vegan diet. Of the most popular fruits and vegetables analysed, the city was ranked the third cheapest where on average fresh foods like bananas, tomatoes, rice, potatoes and oranges cost just over £10 whilst families buy the same for 23% more in London.

Weekly fruit and veg costs for 10 towns and cities in the UK:

(Based on the most common fruit and veg purchased once a week)

The cost of food in the UK increased by 2.5% in March 2019, the highest rate of inflation since November 2013. There was a large increase in ambient goods rising by 3.4% again the highest since February 2013 with the increase following on from global commodity prices and extreme weather events. Despite these rises, the cost of waste from food manufacture is an eye-watering 1.8 million tonnes according to DEFRA which has prompted major UK supermarkets to sign up to a food waste pledge.

This study has uncovered that location may be a factor in the weekly expenses incurred when buying the weekly food shop. Find out the cost of groceries globally with the new food shopping tool by Compare My Mobile.