"F**king absurd": Canadian shocked by price of prepackaged food at grocery store
A Canadian shopper expressed her shock over the price of prepackaged food at grocery stores, and it caused a bit of a debate in the comments.
TikTok user @sydmuddy shared her grocery haul on the video-sharing platform, which consisted of a pre-packaged Caesar salad, a pack of four mozzarella balls, and a small meat and cheese snack tray.
“Do you know why people steal groceries in this economy? It’s because this costs $23,” she said, showing the four items.
The salad cost $10, the mozzarella balls a little over $5, and the small container of meat and cheese almost $9.
“Also, tell me why every one of these items individually is more expensive than ice cream,” she added, showing the price of a pint of chocolate Häagen-Dazs ice cream.
“$4.99 for ice cream, which is unhealthy, and you shouldn’t be promoting people to buy, but it’s [cheaper] than all of these items individually.”
@sydmuddy If fulltime work isnt enough to pay for the basics, whats the point? #canada #canadianeconomy #groceryexpenses #expensivegroceries #costoflivingcrisis ♬ original sound – SydMuddy
Naturally, the internet had a lot of thoughts on this.
Most replies told her not to buy prepackaged food at grocery stores because they’re generally more expensive.
“Cheaper to make the salad yourself, honestly. Prepackaged salads are really expensive,” reads one comment.
“This is why I don’t buy prepackaged stuff! Make your own salads/snack boxes, and you’ll save so much,” added another.
Many also stressed that by buying prepackaged food, you’re also paying for the labour and packaging.
“You’re paying for the plastic packaging and food prep by someone else. How much is a head of Romaine and ham by itself,” reads one comment.
But many people came to @sydmuddy’s defence, too.
“PRE-PREPARED FOODS SHOULD STILL NOT COST AN ARM AND A LEG. WHY ARE PEOPLE MISSING THE POINT?” replied a commenter.
“A lot of y’all are missing the point — food shouldn’t be this expensive REGARDLESS,” @sydmuddy added.
Another TikTok user pointed out that buying all of the ingredients separately costs more.
“I think it’s [absolutely] hilarious when ppl say don’t buy prepackaged food. To buy all the stuff to make a salad costs like $15 alone,” reads the comment.
@sydmuddy also showed the price of Kraft Dinner mac and cheese.
“Does anybody remember when Kraft Dinner boxes were 50 cents a box? $2.50 a box now? It’s f**king absurd,” she said.
Many commenters also reminisced about the low price of Kraft Dinner at grocery stores.
“I used to buy KD four for $1 🤯,” wrote one TikTok user.
“Kraft Dinner was 50 cents [in 2019]. Add some protein on the side and you’re good. We live in Ottawa, and the prices are super high here,” added another person.
There’s no shortage of shoppers taking to social media to call out grocery chains for outrageous prices.
Recently, Safeway and Shoppers Drug Mart were called out for price gouging and “predatory” prices.