Sharp rise in cost of food basics forces UK families ‘to make desperate choices’

A bakery section in a brand of Tesco. Price inflation over the last two years has been about 30% for baked goods sold in UK supermarkets. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Observer

The cost of some basic food items such as cheese, butter and bread has soared by more than 30% in the last two years, forcing poorer households to “make desperate choices between keeping up with their bill payments or putting food on the table,” campaigners have said.

Food price inflation has slowed in recent months, but costs remain much higher than they were two years ago, disproportionally affecting low-income households, according to research by consumer body Which? shared exclusively with the Guardian.