Cost of living: The change in price of food essentials

At the start of the year, we set out to value the cost of nine food and kitchen essentials, we did the same two months later and now we have done it a further six months down the line. 

READ MORE: With prices rising - we wanted to find out how much does a daily essentials shop cost?

Between February and April, there was an increase of £1.51 between the exact same items. 

Since then, the price of fuel hit a record high, the energy price cap was raised again and the price of inflation continued to increase. 

READ MORE: Cost of cheapest items in UK supermarkets soars by 60%

So we wanted to know how much the price of food has changed during the same period. 

The items bought from Tesco's (Image: Newsquest)

These are the essentials I bought: 

Two pints of milk - £1.25

Stayed the same. 

Two pints of semi-skimmed milk in February cost 89p, by April it had increased to £1.25. 

That price has remained the same since. 

Kingsmill 50/50 loaf - £1.05

Cheaper than April. 

In April, the same loaf of bread cost £1.10, while it isn't exactly a significant decrease, it is still surprising. 

Six eggs - £1.15

Tesco's own brand eggs went up 30p from the £0.85 they were in April. 

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

Considering there was only a 6p increase from February to April, this seems like quite a sharp increase in price. 

Butter - £1.10

Again, Tesco's own brand was the cheapest option, but was still 10p more expensive than in April. 

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

Cheese - £2.65

Again, the most expensive item on the list. 

A 400g block of Creamfields cheese had increased by 76p, which is staggering. 

The price of all cheeses had increased.

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

Baked Beans - £0.75

Tesco's organic baked beans stayed at the same price as April.

Again, a cheaper option compared to brands like Heinz. 

Penne pasta - £0.35

An increase of 6p compared to April.

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

However, having remained the same price earlier in the year, there was a slight change this time. 

Toilet roll - £1.70

Stayed the same.

Toilet roll had the biggest increase out of the nine items in April at 51p.

This time however, it remained at the same price. 

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

Washing up liquid - £0.49

A slight 8p increase for washing up liquid compared to April. 

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

Another increasing item in the price of living. 

READ MORE: Foodbank falls back on funds as rising demand exceeds donations

Total cost - £10.49

A difference of £1.25 altogether between April and October, with a combined increase of £2.66 from February to October. 

While that might not seem like a lot, those nine items are the basics, and would only be enough for one or two people. 

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. 

The demand for use of foodbanks has increased and is continuing to increase, with calls for help coming in preparation for the expected demand this winter.