The Department of Human Nutrition at Otago University released a document outlaying the basic food costs for individuals and families in New Zealand. How do you measure up?

Image: Taken from the study

What’s interesting about the document is that it outlines the basic food costs for a basic diet, moderate diet and liberal diet. You can look at the tables in the document and work out what the costs are for individuals in various New Zealand cities and you can also use it to calculate the costs for various family types.

It’s worth checking the study out, how it was done and then working out your own food costs and budget in comparison. It’s also worth thinking through the impact on low income families with less income to meet the basic diet standard. How does your weekly spend on food compare to the study?