If you think your grocery bill is bigger than ever, you aren't wrong - fruit and vegetable prices have shot up 10 percent in the past year. And it's driving more and more people to foodbanks.
There's been more bad news on Friday, with food price data showing a 7.4 percent jump last month compared to July 2021. That's driven in part by a 10 percent increase in fruit and vegetables.
"Grocery prices are climbing too high - too dear for families," one person told Newshub.
"Absolutely ridiculous, people can't survive on that," another added.
It's driving more and more families to seek help.
Two years ago Kokiri Marae Pātaka Kai was feeding 200 families a week - now it's 350.
"We're getting more and more families coming in from all walks of life, those who have never had to ask for help before. We have families that come in who cry because they are asking us for food," said Kokiri Marae Pātaka Kai's Kelli-Teresa Ah-You.
She says some parents are starving themselves to feed their tamariki.
"They fast for a couple of days because they only have enough food in their house for the babies," Ah-You said.
Food banks like this rely on funding to purchase their products so with food prices going up, they're getting less kai for their cash.
"It's getting harder and harder, kai is getting more expensive," Ah-You said.
"There is a worry that food prices aren't turning around any time soon. There is very little light at the end of the tunnel in the short-term," added Infometrics senior economist Brad Olsen.
Though that won't hinder this community's determination to feed its whanau.
