Leeds Baby Bank expects ‘knock-on’ effect and huge demand for services amid skyrocketing supermarket prices in Yorkshire

Which?’s supermarket inflation tracker has shown the supermarkets and types of food and drink with the fastest rising prices. Based on a study by the Office for National Statistics, inflation this year is at one of its highest levels in more than 40 years.

Inflation is a measure of how quickly prices are rising or falling and does not refer to absolute price. Supermarkets with the highest inflation may also be the cheapest.

The most dramatic increase in prices is actually coming from basic necessities such as items from supermarkets that consumers rely on every day. The price tracker runs monthly and looks at tens of thousands of prices with 20 popular categories of food and drink at eight supermarkets: Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.

In April 2023, annual inflation for the popular supermarket food and drink in Which?’s tracker was 17 per cent in the three months to April 30 and 17.1 per cent in the one month to April 30. The three-month period included 24,643 product price points and the one-month period included 26,549.

Latest figures show that products at Lidl have the highest levels of inflation, up to 24.9 per cent for one month up to April 30 and this is closely followed by Aldi at 22.9 per cent.

According to Which? cheese remains the fastest rising in price of all popular categories of food and drink including milk and yoghurts which are also among the worst-hit categories.

However, families with children are also struggling with the increase of prices and as a result Leeds Baby Bank, a charity that provides vital support and urgent baby essentials for families in need in and around Leeds, has seen a huge demand for its services.

According to the charity, more than 170,000 people in Leeds are estimated to be in poverty due to housing costs and there are at least 33,000 children living in poor conditions in Leeds, which is around 20 per cent compared with 17 per cent nationally.

Charity manager, Ellie Brown, said: “The increasing price-rises at supermarkets are concerning and will have a knock-on effect on the families we support.

“People who are already struggling will find it even harder to buy food and other essential items for themselves and their children - often leaving parents in a desperate situation. We have seen an increase in families visiting our weekly drop-in Outreach.

“Here at Leeds Baby Bank we support families in Leeds who are experiencing poverty, with the aim of ensuring no child goes without.”