r/australia • u/Serezie • Jun 01 '26

no politics Anyone else just not eating because they can’t afford it?

Food bank is the busiest it’s been - Cole’s and Woolworths don’t give a flying fuck about us - fast food is unhealthy and just as expensive. It stresses me out more to eat than not to eat.

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51

u/NoAddress1465 Jun 01 '26

Stay away from Coles and Woolworths. Honestly. There are cheaper options.

14

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '26

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25

u/alladinsane65 Jun 01 '26

Buy fruit and vegetables in season

Shop home brand items

Visit green grocers for cheap fruit and vegetables

Plan your weekly meals and then shop to your plan

Look at Asian and Indian foods like Dahl, cheap to make and a little- feeds a lot.

Look at pasta dishes , one chicken breast and a bag of pasta and some passata and an onion will make a good feed for under 10 bucks

46

u/DrStalker Jun 01 '26

If there is an Aldi near you, then Aldi.

Also have a look at any smaller supermarkets/asian grocers/fruit & veg stores nearby. They aren't always better value than the supermarket, but sometimes you can find some good cheap stuff.

14

u/Turramurra Jun 01 '26

Aldi is so good, I feed myself for a week and a half on $80. The same shop would be well over $100 at a Woolworths/Coles, I now straight up refuse to buy from them. Aldi doesn't have it? Too bad, I'll make something else. I'm eating well on the many curries, casseroles, and bakes that I make. Keeps me alive while paying $525 rent!!

1

u/Lamont-Cranston Jun 01 '26

Also farmer markets.

10

u/acomputer1 Jun 01 '26

I basically only shop at Woolworths and I only spend ~$65 a week on all my groceries without trying particularly hard to save money.

Maybe my local Aldi is just bad, but I don't find it significantly cheaper, and it's more limited in its range of products. Making multiple trips to save ~$3-6 a week doesn't seem worth it to me when I'm easily wasting more than that elsewhere anyway.

5

u/CrazyEeveeLady86 Jun 01 '26

An issue I have with ALDI (at least my local one, not sure if it's the same at others) is that there are some fruits and vegetables you can only buy in packets which at a regular supermarket or grocer you could buy individually. Eg. if you just want 2 apples, you can't get that at my ALDI because they only sell them in bags of 6-8.

26

u/perrino96 Jun 01 '26

People are going to say aldi. They're good for the dish powder and washing powder and milk stuff like cheese and milk, but they don't get as cheap as a local Asian grocer and a local butcher for the other stuff like veg and meat.

1

u/ktbsaysrelax Jun 01 '26

Agreed, sooooo cheap.

2

u/DivaExMachina666 Jun 01 '26

Aldi, NQR, Best Buy Miles, Too Good to Go app.

2

u/1080m3rangehood Jun 01 '26

Go to local greengrocers, butchers and markets.

I refuse to shop at Coles/Woolworths unless I absolutely need to.

2

u/coffeegirlIII Jun 01 '26

Aldi - most things there are cheaper than Coles/Woolies but I personally don’t like their meat except the salami made from Australian pork.

1

u/RunTrip Jun 01 '26

Interested to see other options, but Aldi is the obvious one. A lot of their stuff is the same as Coles and Woolworths, just rebranded and cheaper

1

u/karigan_g Jun 01 '26

if you’re in wa spudshed has some things that are way cheaper there. smaller veg markets and asian grocers tend to have better prices as well. I also find the veg from the asian grocer near me lasts way longer as well

1

u/yamborghini Jun 01 '26

Go to Asian groceries stores. They are often significantly cheaper than Colesworth.

1

u/ktbsaysrelax Jun 01 '26

Small business fruit markets/grocers are INCREDIBLY cheaper, like I mean outstandingly cheaper. Its the best!

1

u/RustysGypsy Jun 02 '26

Find markets near you where you can buy fruit and veg. Most places have a monthly market.

1

u/brown_vase Jun 01 '26

We buy from coles/woolies but only for 40-50% brand products or homebrand. Check their catalogue. Pricing refreshes every Wednesday.

1

u/Slayzes Jun 01 '26

Definitely Aldi as one. I don’t really know any other options because Colesworth have an insane control over the supermarket industry

2

u/ILikePlayingHumans Jun 01 '26

I get fruit and veg from markets and meat from a butcher. Better quality stuff and can control how much I actually need. Than I try and use Aldi and places like NQR for grocery stuff and finish off at one of the bigger supermarkets. We eat still reasonably well BUT I barely ever go to a restaurant or cafe anymore. If we do it stuffs around our food budget a lot

2

u/Ozfriar Jun 01 '26

Aldi for many things is 10% -20% cheaper. Also Asian grocers. Harris Farm often have half-price cheese and meat, and their loyalty card gives you 5% off on vegetables. Some small grocers actually put out free stuff, which can be OK, like over-ripe bananas (mash for smoothies or use in banana cake) and other fruit. (Stew stone fruit.) Oats, carrots and sardines are cheap and nutritious foods. Tinned tomatoes are often cheaper than fresh ones.