The first graph shows the price hike of various food products in percentages in the UK within the given timespan (2007-2014), while the second one illustrates changes in the frequency of purchases of the same items among poor families in the UK, but in a shorter timespan (2007-2012).
Overall, the UK saw a significant rise in the cost of all the given items, particularly of fish, flour and fruit. Meanwhile, households with low income bought almost all of these products less frequently, with flour being the only exception, because it experienced a substantial rise in purchases.
Within seven years, each of the products in the list cost more expensive by at least a quarter, as was the case with vegetables. Items such as soft drinks and cheese were within similar range, seeing a 28 and 30-percent increase respectively. Consumers had to spend around 33-percent more money on fruit and flour by the end of the given period. Fish – the product whose price saw the most noticeable increase – became 36-percent more expensive than it used to be at the beginning of the period.
Within five years, families with financial challenges decreased the frequency of shopping for these items to various extents. The purchases of fish and fruit – two of the products with the most significant price hike – fell by almost a fifth each. Although marginally, the buying of vegetables, soft drinks and cheese also fell, by around 3 percent each. Flour, however, saw an 90-percent rise in its purchases, making it the only item to be bought more despite a considerable cost rise.