Australians are turning to meal prepping to save money in the face of low living costs, with Gen Z in particular expressing frustration at being deprived of the simple pleasure of brunch in a café.
Patty Friedlander, a Gen Z woman, complained that the “economic crisis” was robbing younger Australians of their right to enjoy cafes and hospitality venues before they became stuck with mortgages and household bills.
Mr Friedlander complained that inflation had forced him to prepare supermarket meals for lunch. The recent Lighthouse 2024 report on hospitality found that menu prices had risen by as much as a third in the past 12 months.
“There’s something about meal prep,” he said in a video he posted to social media.
“Like I can buy this in a cafe and be really happy about it, but just because I know I made it and I’m doing this to save money, then that’s ‘disgusting’.”
“I don’t want to. I want to spend $30 on an overpriced meal.
‘I hate the economic crisis… this sucks.’
Patty Friedlander took to social media to complain that cafes have now become unaffordable and that he has had to resort to meal prep, which he said made him “disgusted”
Many young Australians agreed, feeling that eating out had become an unaffordable luxury and they no longer wanted to have to prepare meals.
“I’m the same… I thought I was the only one,” someone said.
“I literally take something from home and then go buy something to eat because my bowl of food makes me depressed,” said another.
“I’m so poor but I spent $80 on Door Dash tonight because I wanted cheeseburgers,” said a third.
“Is it too much to ask to only eat a salmon bagel and an almond latte every day?” asked a fourth.
Australians are increasingly struggling with the rising cost of living, which is the result of a combination of circumstances.
Household spending data released by the Commonwealth Bank on Thursday showed that the eEconomic challenges appear to be hitting renters harder, with a 0.9 percent drop in renter spending recorded in the year to June.
Coupled with rising rents due to Australia’s housing shortage, young Australians who rent are being hit particularly hard.
Younger Australians renting are having a particularly hard time (pictured: About 150 people wait to get into an apartment in Sydney’s eastern suburbs that was up for rent last year)
Freight costs and extreme weather conditions have led to significant food price increases in recent years.
Global factors have also contributed, including rising gasoline prices due to international conflicts and major supply chain disruptions, which first came to light during the Covid pandemic and continue to persist.
Paul Zali, executive director of the Freight and Trade Alliance, said some in the industry were calling the latest round of supply chain problems a “baby Covid.”
“It will increase costs and those will trickle down to consumers, from confectionery to luxury goods to medical goods,” he told Sky News on Thursday.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded a higher-than-expected consumer price index (its measure of inflation) of four percent in May, up from 3.6 percent in April.
The rise has raised concerns that the country’s inflation problem is more persistent than expected and that the Reserve Bank will soon hike rates again.