It costs how much!?

Almost three months have passed since The Centre for Research in Social Policy published their research on “A Minimum Income Standard for Remote Rural Scotland”. The headline finding was that rural mainland and island households need between 10 and 40 percent more income than households in urban England to meet a minimum standard of living.

At the time, the results seemed to pass by the local media outlets, which made little, if any, comment on the findings. Perhaps it was not considered news. After all, we are acutely in the aware in the islands that the costs of groceries and fuel here eclipse those found on the mainland. However, looking past the headline figures to the underlying data, I think we should be paying more attention to the study, and particularly to the results relating to the cost of food shopping.

The food shopping models, which were based around the types of retailers present in the study area (in our case the local Co-operatives, and several local convenience stores), looked at a basket of goods considered typical of what would be found in an average weekly shop.

And how much more expensive was a typical basket of shopping in an island settlement (remote from a town) compared with an English rural town?

A whopping 56%!!!

That amounts to an extra £20.53 a week for a single adult and an extra £62.11 a week for a couple with two children! And not only are the prices much higher, but the range of goods available is much more limited than in other areas.

These results got me thinking about whether a healthy diet is really accessible or affordable for many people in the islands. Frugal food habits have gained a lot of exposure recently, in large part thanks to Jack Monroe, a young single mother who, through necessity, has been creating some creative and healthy recipes on a tiny budget, and sharing them with the world through her blog, agirlcalledjack.com.

Jack’s story gained a lot of publicity and with that came a multitude of articles on how to survive on £1 a day and how to eat well on a tight budget. One such article on the BBC News Website identified a one week shopping list, compiled using prices from Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco and ratios based on the NHS Eatwell Plate, which cost a grand total of £14.41.

Would that be possible here, using prices from our local Co-op store? I thought it would be highly unlikely but had a look to see just how far off we would be shopping at the Co-op (prices gathered August / September 2013):

250g rice - £0.18	4 tins beans - £1.80	4 pints milk - £1.52
800g bread - £0.58	3 onions - £0.72	6 eggs - £1.47
330g oats - £0.29	7 bananas - £1.27	Tin sardines - £0.60
250g pasta - £0.20	4 apples - £1.00	1 tin kidney beans - £0.46
1kg potatoes - £1.33	Litre of fruit juice - £0.75	227g chicken liver* - £1.59
3 tins tomatoes - £1.08	600g satsumas - £1.80	100g chickpeas (dried) - £0.89**
1kg frozen sweetcorn - £1.50	100g cheddar - £0.78	Half jar of jam - £0.49
1kg carrots - £1.00	250g butter - £0.58	75ml vegetable oil - £0.25

*Can’t buy here. Substitute for cheapest sausages at £1. **Can’t buy dried. One 400g tin is £0.89.

Total cost: £22.13 (53.5% higher than the BBC Website list)

Obviously some of the items are occasionally on offer or can be bought at reduced prices as they are going out of date but 53.5% is still a huge premium on the prices that can be paid on the mainland. 

Of course, there is a major problem with the list above: the amounts and prices shown are proportions of larger packs and you can’t just buy half a jar or a third of a packet of something for a reduced price. So what could actually be bought here for the £10 a week that Jack Monroe spends on her groceries, or even the £15 a week that the BBC prescribes? I tried to come up with a menu and it was incredibly tough. For £10 I came up with:

1.5kg white flour - £1.29

6 eggs - £1.47

Loaf of bread - £0.58

1 litre milk (UHT) – £0.61

Bag of oats - £0.86

Tin of chopped tomatoes - £0.36

1kg bag of white rice - £0.69

Tin peach slices - £0.46

1kg bag of frozen veg - £1.50

500g pack of butter - £1.15

Packet of instant mash - £0.55

Tin of baked beans - £0.36

TOTAL: £9.88

This list could almost certainly be improved a lot. It is pretty repetitive and completely lacking in protein. Taking the budget up to £15 (actually £14.82) would facilitate the addition of 10 skinless sausages (£1.59), a tin of kidney beans (46p), a carton of orange juice (75p), more milk (61p), tea bags (£1), and a packet of gingernuts (41p). (I’m sure everybody would use that extra budget differently but I think having a cup of tea and a biscuit every evening would make a massive difference to me.)

So, while it would not be easy, it seems that it would be possible to eat a semi-reasonable diet on a low budget in the islands. However, that does not detract from the fact that we pay a considerable premium on our groceries. 

Will we see any changes in the near future? I was told a few months ago that our local Co-op store will be changing their set up and will be lowering their general prices while having fewer in-store offers. I will be keeping an eye out to see if there is any discernible drop in prices (if they have already implemented the changes then there hasn't been) but I certainly won’t be getting my hopes up. After all, you know what they say about leopards and spots.