By Sudouest.fr with AFP
The Rural Families Association calls for the establishment of a fruit and vegetable check for the most modest households in the face of soaring prices
The Rural Families consumer association, which publishes an annual observatory of the prices of everyday consumer goods, observed “contained inflation in 2021, except for fruit and vegetables, the prices of which have jumped by 9% in two years” , from September 2019 to September 2021.
“Showing an increase of almost 10% in two years, it is not surprising to see some consumers turn away from it, especially those with small budgets”, regrets the association, which calls for the establishment of a “fruit and vegetable check” in 2022, “so as not to divert families with the most modest budgets from these healthy foods”.
Rural families has also calculated that eating in accordance with the recommendations of the national health nutrition plan costs, for a family of four, between 450 euros, varying the products less but respecting the diversity of categories and seasonality, and 1,148 euros for an “organic” family. This is the overall monthly budget for feeding a family.
Nutrition program
“All organic is far from being within the reach of all budgets”, comments Rural Families, which, “to reassure families, (recalls) that the essential thing is to consume enough fruit and vegetables regardless of whether they are whether organic or not.
In general, “Rural Families calls on public authorities to develop a much more ambitious policy promoting healthy eating by allowing everyone to have access to it”. She believes that “investing in a nutritional program combining prevention and help for the most precarious is the key to curbing the development of too many pathologies linked to the consumption of products that are too fatty, too sweet, too salty in too large quantities”.
The Rural Families survey was carried out over four periods, February, April, June and October 2021 in 148 stores (hypermarkets, supermarkets, hard-discounts, organic specialists), by a team of 107 “consumption watchers” in 37 departments.