The UK is being battered by an economic storm.
Rocketing energy prices, increasing fuel costs and static wages have all hit Britons in the pocket.
And now an upsurge in food prices is leaving many families feeling the pinch.
The Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, rose by 4.9 per cent in the 12 months up until January 2022.
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And supermarkets have warned further price rises are expected this year. due to supply chain issues, rising ingredient prices and transport costs.
Outside one supermarket in North Manchester, reporter Louisa Gregson spoke to shoppers as they picked up their weekly and monthly groceries, to find out how they have been affected.
Steph Nicholson, 28, from Radcliffe, a single mum of a seven-year-old child was eager to talk, despite blustering winds and a heavy downpour.
"When you're trying to live on a budget it's hard and it is getting worse," she says.
"They (the government) need to do more to help people by increasing wages or reducing living costs - otherwise there will be more and more people visiting food banks."
Steph says her usual 'big packs of pasta' have increased from £2.72 to £4.98 - and she has noticed increases on other items, including bread.
She says she is also noticing food seemingly having a shorter shelf life.
"I went on Friday to get some ham for packed lunches for my little boy and by Tuesday it was out of date," she says.
"It is a real worry and it's not just single parents like me that are struggling, lots of families are."
Beverley Hughes, a support worker for people with special needs and learning disabilities, is a grandmother of two and lives with her husband in Bury.
She says she shops around for cheaper products at the market.
"I shop at the market and go to the meat and fish stalls, she says.
"But since Covid I have noticed even those prices are going up as small businesses have struggled.
"I have noticed prices going up by 50p here and there to recoup, it's not massive increases but it adds up."
Beverley says her children have grown up now but if here were more people at home than just her and her husband, it would be harder.
"It's hard for big families," she says.
Young family Kayleigh O'Doyle, 20, and Matthew Seymour, 21, have a little boy called Astro.
Kayleigh looks after ten month old Astro - who was born four months prematurely - full-time, while Matthew works at a bakery in Whitefield.
Kayleigh nods wholeheartedly when I suggest that bringing up babies is expensive.
"You notice when you get to the till that your bill keeps increasing," she says.
"Squeezy baby food pouches are 90p and there's not much in them.
"Products I buy for £1 are now £1.39 - it keeps going up.
"I only get £4 healthy start vouchers.
"Our food shopping is about £250 per month."
Matthew says: "We are worried about the future, yes.
"Everything is getting so expensive."
Brenda Sullivan, a retired laboratory manager, has two grown up children and two grandchildren and lives in Littleborough.
Aged 75, she says she is in a more comfortable position, and not too concerned about food prices, but is concerned about the younger generation and worries about her grandchildren.
"When we went to university it was free, now it's so expensive," she says.
"We are worried about the energy bills - it's a massive increase and fuel is going up - trying to run a car is awful."
George O'Neal, from Oldham, who works in retail and is in a family-of-three, says he has noticed staple foods seem to be rising by stealth.
"Potatoes, rice, flour and pasta are all going up, " he says.
"I notice it when I go shopping.
"A lot of things are over-priced."
Meanwhile, food banks warn of a surge in users, as people are forced to choose between eating or heating - with some saying they are struggling to afford either.
Rafa Ahmed is Project Coordinator at food bank and homelessness charity, Feedo Needo, which has branches in Manchester, Birmingham, Bradford and London.
“At Feedo Needo, we have experienced a sharp increase in service users at the food bank and a lot of newer patrons who been using our services for the first time, this winter", she says.
Describing how families with school children were turning to them for help after finding 'weekly food shops rapidly increasing', she added: "Many of these service users are single parents or couples who are relying heavily on Universal Credit to feed their families.
"With rising energy bills this winter, the added pressure of food shopping has weighed heavily on many of those who visit and voice their worries about how they are going to continue feeding their children whilst paying their energy bills and keep up the demand for school items.
"We hope that the government or local councils can step in."
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Foodcycle, who offer free weekly three-course meals to those suffering from food poverty, said: "For those affected by the increasing costs of living, particularly those struggling with the cost of basic ingredients going up and utility bills rising, we would say come and share a meal with us.
"You’re not only saving on the price of the ingredients for dinner that night, but you can enjoy a warm dining room, freshly cooked vegetarian food and speak to others in the community while saving on your own heating and shopping bills.
"We often have surplus food left over at the end of our meals, donated to us by local supermarkets, which our guests are welcome to take home too."
Anti-food poverty campaigner Jack Monroe has revealed that inflation involving supermarket staples disproportionately affects the poorest people in society, not only because of lower incomes, but because of a shrinking choice of budget ranges.
“I’ve cried tears of humiliation when a shelf edge label turned out to be advertising an expired promotion, tipping my shopping over what I could afford from the six pounds or so in change - the only money I had in the world - in my hand," she said.
“And today I cried, quietly, to myself, in Asda, as the enormity of all of the last few weeks finally sank in amongst all the white labels in my shopping basket.”
In response Asda says it it taking steps to make Smart Price products 'as accessible as possible'.
A spokesperson for Asda told the MEN: "Asda has confirmed that it will stock its full Smart Price and Farm Stores ranges in all 581 food stores and online to provide customers on a budget with more value choices.
"The supermarket currently stocks 150 Smart Price and Farm Stores products in 300 stores and will introduce all 200 products in these value ranges to all food stores by March 1.
"Asda has already taken steps to make its value ranges more accessible by increasing the number of products available online.
"The supermarket has added 100 Smart Price and Farm Stores products to its website this week, increasing the total online range to 187 products, and this will rise to 200 by the end of February."
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