"Every day I think, what am I going to feed the kids?"
That is the stark reality for a Tauranga mother of four whose food bill has more than doubled in two years.
The news comes as struggling families consider leaving Tauranga as the cost of rent, food and fuel soar, with a social agency describing the situation as a "perfect storm of poverty, pandemic, and profit".
Tauranga mother Chanchal Saraswat spent about $120 a week on groceries to feed her family of four two years ago. Now, she spends about $250.
Saraswat said she worked hard to make food from scratch to cut costs but it was stressful sticking to her budget. She had even stopped driving during the week to save money.
Saraswat said she had changed food brands, shopped at different stores for the best deals - which had "vanished" - and there was no room in the budget for "wants" such as icecream.
She bought food in bulk, used leftovers for breakfast and made food in batches to freeze. She swapped food with other school mums and searched community pages for deals or free food.
Even so, the family was no longer saving money.
"I'm tense, I'm stressed. I'm not really happy because I used to feed my kids the best. But I have to have a budget too."
She said it was a struggle every day.
"I never thought food would be such a thing I'd need to think about."
Saraswat said her friends also struggled with "drastically" rising prices, including a solo mum paying $710 in rent and $150 on fuel with a weekly income of $1000 leaving little for food.
Merivale Community Centre acting general manager John Fletcher said he knew a "fully independent, working" family of four facing homelessness.
Fletcher said the family, Tauranga residents of 10 years, saved for a house deposit but rising prices meant they still didn't have enough to buy.
Now, he said their landlord was selling up and, unable to find another rental, they were considering moving away.
"They are doing everything that they possibly can ... they are stuck."
Fletcher said demand for food parcels had soared in the last six months putting significant pressure on whānau.
"The trajectory has only gone up ... There are so many people struggling. The cost of living and inflation has taken a huge chunk out of people's wallets.
"The squeeze is on.
"Many whānau in Merivale are already right on the edge with that stuff and already using what resources they can to keep their heads above water."
According to OneRoof, Merivale (Parkvale) was Tauranga's most affordable suburb with a median house price of $700,000 and an average weekly rent of $497.
Tauranga's average house price was $1,197,798, while the median weekly rent was $620, up 10 per cent from January 2021.
Welcome Bay Community centre manager Sacha Harwood said there was an increase in demand for food support, in particular, in the past six months.
"I'm not sure if that's due to supermarket prices or general cost of living but there are a lot of people needing support."
School lunches were sought after, especially during school holidays.
"It just goes to show you how much pressure [Government school lunches] take off families."
Te Tuinga Whanau's Tommy Wilson said the situation was a "perfect storm of poverty, pandemic, and profit".
He said the only way to counter the supermarket duopoly was by starting in people's own back gardens.
"Growing good kai is key.
"Showing our whānau how to grow food and catch a feed is the way out of this."
Stats NZ data showed fruit and vegetable prices rose 17 per cent in the year to February 2022, grocery food jumped 5.4 per cent and meat was up 7.1 per cent, among other rises.
Data from fuel price monitoring app Gaspy showed Unleaded 98 surged 18.55 per cent in 28 days to $3.32 a litre, as of March 10. Diesel rose 22.11 per cent to $2.21 and Unleaded 91 12.44 per cent to $2.93.
Huge queues were reported at petrol stations around Tauranga yesterday after prices were projected to rise again today.
Tauranga Community Foodbank manager Nicki Goodwin said the impact of rising living costs had been "muddied" by the pandemic.
"A lot of people are seeking help, probably because they are in that situation of work and struggling anyway. Then they have a day or two off in isolation and that's enough for them to need support."
Goodwin said people were stressed, scared and full of anxiety because "they've already stretched their dollar as far as it will go, so it becomes a case of now what?".
Tauranga Budget Advisory Service manager Shirley McCombe said poor financial well-being impacted physical and mental health.
"The resulting stress can cause relationship breakdowns and increased family violence. It can result in escalating behaviour or accidents in the workplace. Sometimes, employment is lost as clients can't get to work."
The service was also seeing more people in employment struggling to make ends meet.
Principal economist and Infometrics director Brad Olsen said the disruption to global supply chains, shift from ultra-low interest rates, Russian invasion of Ukraine, economic demand outstripping supply, and tight labour market all contributed to rising living costs.
But he said expensive fuel would be the "key challenge" this year, hitting households' back pockets and driving up the price of goods that became more expensive to move around the country.
"Higher costs will be making many workers ask for higher pay increases, which might see businesses look to raise their prices even further to pay for increased labour costs – if this sort of increase continues, we could find ourselves in a wage-price spiral upwards."
Olsen said people should expect high global commodity prices to push up the price of goods and services more in the next six months. The Bay of Plenty may experience "even greater pressure" due to stronger levels of economic activity, he said.
Ministry of Social Development regional commissioner Mike Bryant acknowledged the difficulties some were facing and encouraged people to seek help when needed.
There was a range of assistance for people both on or not on benefits who might be receiving one-off grants, Bryant said.
The Government recently announced a temporary lift on income limits for Hardship Support through the ministry so more people could receive help, he said.
- additional reporting Carmen Hall
Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller
"It's absolutely a crisis, every time we all take out our Eftpos cards at the moment we wince. Labour needs to tighten the show up quickly, start being prudent with our taxes and our kids' futures. I support National's plan to adjust tax thresholds and leave some money in your pockets."
Tauranga MP Simon Bridges
"There is a cost of living crisis ... and it's hitting Tauranga people hard. More families are now having to make some very tough decisions. National has proposed tax relief ... That said, increased government spending is part of the problem, fuelling inflation higher."
Māori Party and Waiariki MP Rawiri Waititi
"The cost of living is at crisis point, a reality weighing heavily on our Māori whānau. The cost of food/petrol is exorbitantly high. I have serious concerns for our people's well-being as we approach the winter months. Prices must be lowered for whānau to have one less thing to worry about during this pandemic."
Tauranga Labour list MP Jan Tinetti
"There is no question that things are hard for middle and low-income families right now – the impact of a truly global pandemic, a global energy shock, and a war in Ukraine. Not a single solution but we are raising the minimum wage, lifting superannuation payments, increasing Working for families, improving benefits."
Rotorua MP Todd McClay
"Yes. Rents are up $140 a week, petrol is now $45 more to fill a tank and food is, I'm told, more expensive than people can remember. [We need] less Government regulation that comes at the cost of businesses that get passed on and adjustments to the taxes where middle-income earners are paying 33 per cent."
Waiariki Labour list MP Tamati Coffey
"Petrol and food are more expensive right now because of so many things that are out of our control. We haven't stopped working on addressing inequity in our community. We've also raised the minimum wage to $21.75. Budget 2022 will also provide more for those of us really struggling."
• Build a positive and long-term relationship with your landlord by being a good tenant (keep property tidy, report anything that needs the landlord to repair/maintain promptly, etc). That way if you get behind in rent, the landlord may be more open to plans to repay arrears and get back to paying rent on time as soon as possible.
• Power-wise, shop around. There are good websites that compare prices. Make sure you are on the right usage plan and read your meter regularly to pick up on any sudden increases in power usage. Shorter showers, and wrapping hot water cylinders in insulation also help.
• For food, think long term and seasonal (fruit trees and vegetable gardens) as well as short term (neighbourhood fruit trees or gardens, barter work for food, food banks and food grants). It is important to note that short-term solutions may feel embarrassing but to keep in mind that there are a lot of people now who are using these sources and food is a necessity.
• Don't buy spontaneously. Plan your debts – how much, from where and how it will be repaid. The amount of future stress that is avoided by doing this more than makes up for the short-term fun of impromptu buying.
Source - Tauranga Budget Advisory Service
Police are appealing for more information.