Comparing the prices of food essentials two months apart

The price of living has sky rocketed in recent months, fuel prices hit an all time high, the energy bill cap has been increased and food prices were set to increase too. 

Ahead of that potential increase, I went and bought nine essential items from Tesco. 

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This week, I went back and bought the exact same items to compare the prices and this is how it went. 

The nine essential items

Two pints of milk - £1.25

One of the biggest price increases. 

Two pints of semi-skimmed milk in February cost 89p, in the space of two months that's an increase of 36p. 

Kingsmill 50/50 loaf - £1.10

Another sharp increase of 25p, compared to the February price. 

While there were cheaper options on the bread aisle, the same loaf bought in February had raised a fair bit. 

Six eggs - £0.85

Tesco's own brand eggs went up 6p from the £0.79 they were in February. 

Packs of a dozen eggs were obviously cheaper as were some of the eggs from bigger brands. 

Not a massive increase in price, but still an increase. 

Butter - £1

Again, Tesco's own brand was the cheapest option, but was still 15p more expensive than in Feburary. 

Bigger brands were priced between £3 and £4,  so while Tesco's is still a good cheap alternative, it is on the rise. 

Cheese - £1.89

Again, the cheapest item on the list. 

A 400g block of Creamfields cheese had increased by 10p. 

However, it was still the best value cheese compared to brands like Cathedral City at over £4.

Baked Beans - £0.75

A 5p increase on Tesco's own beans compared to Feburary. 

Again a cheaper option compared to brands like Heinz. 

Not a massive increase, but still more expensive than two months ago. 

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Penne pasta - £0.29

The only item on the list not to change price.

A 500g bag of penne from the 'Hearty Food Co.' proved the cheapest option in the pasta aisle at Tesco's, yet again. 

Toilet roll - £1.70

The biggest increase out of the nine items, at 51p.

Admittedly, they were not the same brand as last time, but they were the cheapest option available. 

£1.70 for four toilet rolls was a small price compared to the packs of 18 from the big brands. 

Washing up liquid - £0.41

A slight 2p increase for washing up liquid compared to February. 

Tesco's own brand was again the cheapest option available. 

Another increasing item in the price of living. 

The total of the items purchased

Total £9.24 (20p for the bag for life makes it £9.44)

A difference of £1.41 altogether between February and April and while that might not seem like a lot, those nine items are the basics. 

There is no meat, fruit, vegetables, cereal and a lot more that would normally be included in a weekly family shop. So to consider that increase across a wider shop and it could be huge in some cases. 

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The demand for use of foodbank's is increasing as many people simply cannot afford to be buying food on top of paying housing bills and filling a car up with fuel. 

If food prices continue to rise, then the number of families in poverty will rise with it.