Picture an Auckland family loading up the trolley at Countdown. Bread, milk, eggs, chicken, vegetables, maybe some fruit if it's not too dear. At the checkout, they hand over $300. Then they do it again next week. And the week after that. For an entire year.

That's $15,553. the amount the average Auckland household spent on food in 2024. (Source: Stats NZ, food-price-index-regional)

That figure has climbed steadily over the past five years: $12,647 in 2020, $13,021 in 2021, $14,083 in 2022, $15,356 in 2023. A $2,906 increase since the pandemic started.

But here's the part that matters: these are nominal figures. They don't account for inflation. And inflation since 2019 has run at roughly 20 to 25 percent. Which means in real terms, adjusted for the value of money, Auckland families are spending about the same. or slightly less. than they were five years ago.

So why does it feel so much worse?

Because wages haven't kept pace. Because rents have climbed faster. Because every other cost in your household budget has inflated too. The grocery bill might look bigger, but it's buying you roughly the same amount of food. The squeeze comes from everything else.

Zoom out to 50 years of data and the trajectory is clear. In 1975, this number was a fraction of what it is today. Food costs have marched upward decade after decade, shaped by oil shocks, currency fluctuations, droughts, global supply chains, and now post-pandemic disruption. The climb has been relentless.

But 2024 marks something different. The increase from 2023 to 2024 was just $197. the smallest year-on-year jump in the last five years. Food price inflation is finally slowing. The supermarket duopoly inquiry, increased competition, and easing global freight costs are all playing a role.

For Auckland families, though, the damage is done. That $300 weekly shop is now the baseline. And unless wages rise faster than inflation, it's going to stay that way.

Fifty years ago, food was a smaller share of household spending. Today, it's one of the biggest line items in the family budget. The numbers tell the story of how we got here. Week by week. Trolley by trolley. $300 at a time.