A look at the average weekly diet of a family in northern Cairo
Jack Shenker guardian.co.uk Tuesday May 27 2008
The Araby family lives in Shubra-al-Khama, a poor, congested suburb in northern Cairo. Mohammed, 50, has worked as an accountant for 32 years, and earns 2,000 Egyptian pounds (LE) a month, or £200, with which he has to support his wife, Hoda, and three children.
Ahmed, 23, is their oldest son. After two years of university, he has dropped out to try and find work in order to help support the family. His ad hoc work as a handyman or builder pays LE20 a day. Ahmed's younger brother Kareem is 20, and studying for career in the tourism industry. Their 13-year-old sister, Omnia, is at school. The whole family, including Mohammed's elderly mother, aged 80, shares a three-bedroom apartment.
Mohammed has never thought of himself as well-off, but in previous years was able to save enough from his salary to give the family a few treats - a summer holiday in Alexandria, a monthly picnic together or a meal.
Now, thanks to the rising food prices, these luxuries are a thing of the past. All of Mohammed's salary goes on basic essentials, and he has had to sell his car to continue providing for the family and cut back on the amount spent on on Omnia's education.
Here we look at their average daily diet during a working week
Monday Breakfast: T'amiyya (Egyptian falafel), fool (fava beans), milk, bread. Cost this year: LE5 (last year: LE3). Lunch: Beef, tomatoes, cucumber, aubergine, bread, mulukhiyya (green leaf soup), green beans. Cost this year: LE 47 (LE31.50). Dinner: Yoghurt, bread, cheese. Cost this year: LE 8.50 (LE3.50). Cost for daily food this year: LE60.5 (LE38).
Hoda used to be able to buy lots of dried food that could be stored for the week ahead, but now the family doesn't have enough money to do that and instead has to shop on a day-by-day basis. The cost of tomatoes and meat has risen by 50%, while most other vegetables have doubled in price.
Tuesday Breakfast: Bread, fool, t'amiyya. Cost this year: LE 4 (LE2). Lunch: Butter, tea, sugar, potatoes. Cost this year: LE 32 (LE20). Dinner: Milk, yoghurt, cheese. Cost this year: LE 7.50 (LE4.50). Cost for daily food this year: LE43.50 (LE26.50).
The family would normally have bought some fruit for the children today as well as some sweets to share in the home, but now there is no money left over for these luxuries. Butter alone has gone up almost 70% in the past year.
Wednesday Breakfast: Bread, fool, t'amiyya. Cost this year: LE 4 (LE2). Lunch: Potatoes, cucumber, tomato, spices, fruit. Cost this year: LE 20 (LE11). Dinner: Milk, yoghurt, cheese. Cost this year: LE 6.50 (LE4.50). Cost for daily food this year: LE 30.50 (LE17.50).
Wednesday was the day that Mohammed and Hoda's three children would each receive a small allowance to spend on treat themselves on whatever they wanted. Now, with the cost of potatoes having almost doubled, the allowances have been stopped.
Thursday Breakfast: Bread, fool, t'amiyya. Cost this year: LE4 (LE2). Lunch: Fried chicken, cucumber, pasta, aubergine. Cost this year: LE26 (LE15.50). Dinner: Milk, yoghurt, cheese. Cost this year: LE7.50 (LE4.50). Cost for daily food this year: LE37.50 (LE22).
Once again, Hoda has had to chose between buying meat or fruit for her children. Today she has gone for chicken, the price of which has gone up 50%, leaving her with nothing left to spend on oranges or mangoes. The price of cheese, like most dairy products, has also skyrocketed – up 100% from last year.
Friday Breakfast: Eggs, bread, fool, t'amiyya. Cost this year: LE9 (LE4.50). Lunch: Fish, cucumber, tomato, cooking oil. Cost this year: LE 33 (LE17). Dinner: Milk, French bread, yoghurt, cheese. Cost this year: LE 10 (LE6). Cost for daily food this year: LE 52 (LE27.50).
It's the beginning of the Egyptian weekend and the family's food budget is exhausted. The cheapest oil they could find in the market has doubled in price from LE4 to LE8 . Hoda used to spend the weekend decorating the family apartment, buying new covers for the sofa and chairs, but that's now a thing of the past.
Total cost of food shopping for five days this year: LE224 Total cost of food shopping for five days last year: LE131.5
posted
God help those who earn less than this!! And there are plenty of them with more mouths to feed!
Posts: 102 | From: Somewhere only we know... | Registered: Dec 2006
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posted
224 pounds for only 5 days. I spend not a lot more here on food and I live in the most expensive country in the world. What is going on in Egypt??
Posts: 2184 | Registered: Oct 2005
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quote: 224 pounds for only 5 days. I spend not a lot more here on food and I live in the most expensive country in the world. What is going on in Egypt??
224 pounds in 5 days is about 45 pounds per day or 5.3 Euros. Can you feed a family of 5 (breakfast, lunch and dinner) in France or Holland for 5 Euros ?
Posts: 698 | Registered: Jan 2008
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quote: 224 pounds for only 5 days. I spend not a lot more here on food and I live in the most expensive country in the world. What is going on in Egypt??
224 pounds in 5 days is about 45 pounds per day or 5.3 Euros. Can you feed a family of 5 (breakfast, lunch and dinner) in France or Holland for 5 Euros ?
If the just eat Skittles, then yes.
Posts: 2404 | Registered: May 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Anthropos: 224 pounds for only 5 days. I spend not a lot more here on food and I live in the most expensive country in the world. What is going on in Egypt??
Please share your grocery bill with us, if you don’t mind, food expenditure and soaring food prices are topics that are here to stay and I am genuinely interested in not only knowing what other people eat but what they actually spend on such foods. I know some people made a big fuss about how milk is $4 a gallon well it is about $5.50 a gallon, and i mean typical gallon as in 3.80 Liters gallon.
My wife and i consume 1 liter everyday and that is $1.40 right there. This is a very basic dietary need.
Posts: 2418 | Registered: Nov 2007
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quote: 224 pounds for only 5 days. I spend not a lot more here on food and I live in the most expensive country in the world. What is going on in Egypt??
224 pounds in 5 days is about 45 pounds per day or 5.3 Euros. Can you feed a family of 5 (breakfast, lunch and dinner) in France or Holland for 5 Euros ?
For 5 euros in Spain i can buy a lame sandwich and a small bottle of water.No Pepsi or Coke since this goes for 2 euros minimum. Posts: 3833 | From: here,there,everywhere | Registered: Nov 2007
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posted
We spend for groceries easily between 200 to 300 Euros a week.
Posts: 30135 | From: The owner of this website killed ES....... | Registered: Feb 2004
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quote:Originally posted by massenburg2008: 224 pounds in 5 days is about 45 pounds per day or 5.3 Euros. Can you feed a family of 5 (breakfast, lunch and dinner) in France or Holland for 5 Euros ?
No, you can't. I think that's just the price of breakfast for a family of 4.
Posts: 2932 | From: Just now and then | Registered: Nov 2006
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posted
While i was in egypt for the 2 of us and occasional visitors our cost was an average of 150 le a week, this included fruit, bread, cheese, eggs, meat, sugar, spices, drinks, vegetables, rice, beans. Here at home I average about 100 a week for 3 of us, sometimes it goes up to 150 if i get more expensive meats.
posted
I spend around 1200-1500 le a week.And i dont get useless stuffs.Prices are up high.
Posts: 76 | From: Cairo | Registered: Oct 2007
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posted
Here in Nova Scotia, Canada we pay $7.11 for a gallon of milk to last me and my husband 3 days. Besides that our children have food allergies and intolerance to wheat (gluten), soy and dairy and require a gluten free rice milk which costs 4.00 a day! We spend $24.00 a week for their milk and roughly $16.00 a week for our milk
Thats $40.00 Canadian for milk/week or $160/month. OUCH!
Then there is the actual food and children's dietary supplements (because the milk they drink contains no iron or protein). Everything has to be gluten and dairy free and that is an incredible feat itself (pretty much everything has gluten or dairy).
Because they attend special needs daycare program they get all their special food provided to them monday through friday, which leaves me with only having to prepare for them the breakfast and supper and full menu on weekends, I would estimate that runs about $500.00 per month and then there is lunch and snack for myself and husband mon-fri which would tack on an additional $200.00 per month.
I think the food costs are rising worldwide.
Posts: 109 | From: The Pubs | Registered: May 2007
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quote:Originally posted by Screwdriver: and then there is lunch and snack for myself and husband mon-fri which would tack on an additional $200.00 per month.
I think the food costs are rising worldwide.
How do you and your husband manage to get by on only $200/month ?
A friend of mine is attending Uni. of Western Ontario and he is trying his best to keep the monthly food bill at $300. Any advice ?
Posts: 698 | Registered: Jan 2008
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posted
I remember when i arrived here and went mad, thinking how cheap life was. But when its all gone it aint easy one bit. WE are in the same problem now as these folks, probably more in trouble, it aint fun one bit. Life now is expensive.
posted
Yorkshire Rose, with all due respect, if you are having such a hard life in Egypt just paying for the basics, why don´t you and your husband move to the UK?
Posts: 2184 | Registered: Oct 2005
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All out of the question, no support and money, were here and we got to make best of it. It will work out, im not givin in and i still have hope everyday.
quote:Originally posted by yorkshire rose: All out of the question, no support and money, were here and we got to make best of it. It will work out, im not givin in and i still have hope everyday.
Good for you Yorkie! Here in the UK for my family of 4 I spend about £300 UK sterling per month... everyone now shops at budget supermarkets like Lidl and Aldi..... Yip UK is strugging too. In Cairo I normally spend 800/1000 EGP per month on food etc...and thats on an exspensive month... I do shop at the markets and not in the supermarkets.....
Posts: 288 | From: UK | Registered: Feb 2004
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quote:Originally posted by tootsie: My weekly food bill is about 83.00 Canadain dollars.
I buy boneless/skinless chicken breast- (5.00) 1 package lasts me 3 days. 1 small steak ( 3.00)
eggs - 12 (2.50) milk- 1 litre (2.50) case of bottled water (4.00) whole wheat bread (3.00) 1 bag of salt and vinegar chips (1.00) microwave popcorn ( 2.00) tea ( 3.00) sweet and low ( 2.00) 12 package of diet coke ( 4.00) 1 frozen pizza ( 5.00) 1 lettace (1.00) 2 tomoatoes (1.00) 1 cucmber (1.00) 2 green peppers 1.50) 1 bag of baby carrots (1.50) 1 small bad of rice- does me 2 weeks (1.50) 3 apples (2.00) 3 pears (2.00) 3 bananas (2.00) 2 oranges (2.00) cranberry juice (6.00) 1 can of fuul (2.00) 2 lean cuise dinners (6.00) package of 16 fat free yogart- (6.00)- lasts me 2 weeks. peanut butter (3.00) 3 canned soup ( 3.00) 1 package of cheese crackers ( 2.00) 1 package of pasta (1.00) 1 can of tomatoe sauce ( 1.00)
not included in this is 1 lunch or dinner that I eat out once a week, -
*prints out Tootsie's food list with the far fetched hope do her own grocery shopping and spend that little* Posts: 3833 | From: here,there,everywhere | Registered: Nov 2007
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posted
I look for specials- and stock up on things that are a good price. since I live alone right now. Its on the cheap side. The food prices in canada have risen over the past year- but not as much as some other countries.
quote:Originally posted by tootsie: I look for specials- and stock up on things that are a good price. since I live alone right now. Its on the cheap side. The food prices in canada have risen over the past year- but not as much as some other countries.
I live alone,too,but the prices on my neck of the woods are far more higher. Posts: 3833 | From: here,there,everywhere | Registered: Nov 2007
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