Price of food to replace energy as biggest cost-of-living problem – think tank

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The Resolution Foundation said on Friday that food prices would continue to rise even as energy costs are set to fall, with pressures from food inflation exceeding energy prices by the summer. Lalitha Try, an economist at the think tank, warned that politicians in Westminster had not fully understood what the impact of rising food prices would be, saying: “The cost of living crisis isn’t ending, it’s just entering a new phase.” Analysis from the Resolution Foundation said inflation was expected to fall significantly when the latest figures are announced on May 24 as the effect of 2022’s large increase in energy bills begins to drop out of the annual calculation. If you’re already buying own-brand essentials at the supermarket, you can’t trade down to a cheaper alternative Torsten Bell, Resolution Foundation The same week is also expected to see confirmation that energy prices will actually fall when Ofgem announces changes to the energy price cap on May 25. Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, warned that rising food prices would force low-income households to eat less.