Australians are turning to meal prepping as a way to save money amid the cost of living crisis – with Gen Zers in particular venting their frustrations about how they are being ‘robbed’ of the simple delight of enjoying brunch at cafés.
Gen Z man Patty Friedlander complained that the ‘economic crisis’ was causing younger Aussies to forego their right to enjoy cafes and hospitality venues before they are locked into mortgages and family household bills.
Mr Friedlander complained he has been forced to meal prep supermarket food for lunch to cope with inflation – with a recent Lighthouse 2024 hospitality report finding that menu prices have increased by as much as one-third in the past 12 months.
‘There’s something about meal prep,’ he said in a video posted to social media.
‘Like I could buy this from a café and be happy as Larry but just because I know that I’ve made it and I’m doing this to save money, something about it ”icks” me.
‘I don’t want it. I want to go and spend $30 on an overpriced meal.
‘I hate the economic crisis… this sucks.’
Patty Friedlander took to social media to lament that cafes had now become unaffordable and he had to resort to meal prep which he said ‘icked’ him
Many young Aussies agreed that eating out had become an unaffordable luxury and they were unsatisfied with having to meal prep.
‘I’m the same… I thought I was the only one,’ one person said.
‘I will literally bring something from home and then go and buy something to eat anyway because my container of food depresses me,’ another said.
‘I’m so poor but I spent $80 on Door Dash tonight because I wanted cheeseburgers,’ a third said.
‘Is it too much to ask for just a salmon bagel and almond latte every day?’ a fourth said.
Australians are increasingly battling the rising cost of living brought about by a perfect storm of factors.
Spending data released on Thursday by the Commonwealth Bank showed the economic challenges appear to be hitting renters harder, with a 0.9 per cent fall in renter spending recorded in the year to June.
Combined with soaring rental prices due to Australia’s housing shortage, younger Aussies are feeling the pinch more than most.
Younger Aussies who rent are doing in particularly tough (pictured: many as 150 people waiting to go inside a unit in Sydney’s eastern suburbs that was up for rent last year)
Even grocery prices have surged in recent years due to rising freight costs and extreme weather in Australia.
Global factors are also at play, with petrol costs rising due to international conflicts and major supply chain disruptions first appearing during the Covid pandemic still lingering.
Freight and Trade Alliance director Paul Zali said some in the industry were referring to the latest round of supply chain woes as a ‘baby Covid’.
‘It’s increasing costs and that will flow on to consumers, from confectionery, to luxury items, through to medical goods,’ he told Sky News on Thursday.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded a higher-than-expected Consumer Price Index, the measure of inflation, of 4 per cent in May, up from 3.6 per cent in April.
This rise has sparked concerns the nation’s inflation problem may be more persistent than expected and that yet another interest rate rise could soon be dished out by the Reserve Bank.