A Leeds double-heart attack's victim's blood has been boiling when he sees food prices surge, it's been “annoying the hell out of” him as he depends on his fresh fruit and veg.
Married couple Jim and Pamela Smith, 70 and 76, who live in Seacroft have been travelling around the city, desperate to find fresh produce at a reasonable price. So far, they’ve had to limit the amount of fresh food they get, which hasn’t helped Jim’s health, while the cost of living crisis unceasingly rages on.
Jim, who is a grandfather-of-seven, recently underwent radiotherapy in light of his health issues and has to take "eight" paracetamols a day to deal with the pain, following his two heart attacks in 2013.
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The pensioner, a retired kitchen supervisor at Leeds Royal Armouries, said: “We’re just about coping. Any more and it would be too much! Prices are going up in everything at the moment, like fresh fruit and veg. I used to buy it all the time.
“We’ve been buying frozen veg. Companies are jumping their prices up. What used to be £3, this week is about £3.50.
“It annoys the hell out of me as other shops still sell at the original price, yet the big names are putting on 25p or 50p at a time. We don’t have the heating on as much anymore.”
Pamela said: “We’re having to shop around. We went to Crossgates the other day as our local supermarket keeps outpricing itself.
“It makes me feel annoyed because some shops can have it at a certain price and you go to another and it costs more. I think they could do better.”
Jim has also been struggling to get the medication he needs, he’s provided 100 paracetamols a month – but says he needs “eight a day”. This works out to 248 pills in a 31-day month.
They’ve also been keeping the heating off and wearing warmer clothes even though it “gets a little bit chilly” but they've been making do.
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