Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1466806
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 4 MAY 2022 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The study unveiled today used the same basket of goods drawn up in its 2020 study titled, 'A Minimum Essential Budget for a Decent Living'. In 2020, a family of four with two adults and two children would have had to spend around €600 per month or €7,100 a year on ba- sic foodstuffs to live decently. Less than two years later, that same family would have to spend around €700 per month or almost €8,400 a year in order to buy the exact same products. A family of one adult and two children would have had to spend €430 per month in 2020 to pur- chase a decent basket of food. In 2022 the price shot up to €526. The study compared the price of food and vegetables at three different locations: a supermar- ket, a local grocery vendor, and the Ta' Qali farmers market. The Ta' Qali farmers market proved to be the cheapest op- tion for weekly groceries, with a basic basket of produce for seven days costing €31. At a supermar- ket and grocery vendor, the cost moves up to almost €36 and €38 for a week's groceries. The study tried to design the bas- ket so that it compromises cheap prices with sustainability. For ex- ample, the apple juice used in the basket was 10% more expensive than the cheapest one on offer be- cause the product was organic and its packaging was recyclable. Similarly, a light yoghurt prod- uct used had fewer genetically modified ingredients compared to the cheapest option, despite being 5% more expensive. Medicines and healthcare items also increased considerably in price. A family of four with two adults and two children would have had to spend €307 a year on such items at the start of the pandemic. Nowadays, the same family would have to spend €355 to buy the same items. A family of three, with one adult and two children, spends €22.46 more per year on medicines and healthcare compared to 2020. The main difference between the 2020 'Minimum Essential Budget for a Decent Living' study and this year's study is the inclusion of a COVID-19 protection package. This package includes a dispos- able mask per day for each person in the household, between six to 12, 100ml bottles of sanitiser per year, and two extra boxes of par- acetamol per year. These additional items cost a family of four over €830 more per year. For a family of three, the package costs €630 over and above its essential medicine and healthcare items. Elderly couples suffered the largest burden. In 2020, a basic basket of food would have cost an elderly couple €280 per month or €3,370 per year. In 2022, an elder- ly couple would have to fork out €350 a month or €4,200 per year for the same items. The burden is strongest in med- icines and healthcare. Elderly couples are having to fork out €150 more per year, or 36% more, for the same package of medi- cines and healthcare items com- pared to 2020. When factoring in the prices of COVID-19 prevention items, such as disposable masks, san- itiser and paracetamol, elderly couples have to spend over €400 more, totalling to €980 a year on medicine, healthcare items, and COVID-19 prevention. "This expense isn't a joke for low-income families," researcher Suzanne Piscopo said when pre- senting the results. "They might choose to note buy a mask a day, or avoid buying and using sanitis- er regularly. Because of this, some families might fall ill more fre- quently due to the price of these items." Caritas proposals Caritas made several recom- mendations in light with these results. It said that no-waste food apps should be developed so that low-income families can be connected to sources of surplus or about-to-expire food which would be going to waste. It recommended that special hubs should be set up to collect such, especially from supermar- kets and restaurants. One key result from the study is that the Ta' Qali farmers market was among the cheapest sources of fruit and vegetables compared to chain supermarkets and local- ity grocery vendors. In light of this, Caritas recommended in- creasing the number of farmers markets available across Malta. The NGO insisted that the FEAD scheme should be extend- ed, while a scheme should be set up for subsidised vegetables and fruit to be delivered weekly to the elderly. Additionally, Caritas suggested organising community urban ag- riculture schemes where low-in- come families are supported to grow their own food for personal consumption. At a health level, the NGO recommended health food pre- scriptions for people at the onset of a chronic disease in lieu of an immediate high dose of medica- tion. These prescriptions would be handed out as vouchers by a doctor, allowing recipients to buy fruit, vegetables, pulses, cereals, nuts and seeds to manage or treat their health condition. Caritas suggested that govern- ment offer rebates for low-in- come earners when the annual expenditure on prescribed med- icines and related healthcare items surpasses a certain thresh- old. This would be based on a means-tested scheme. Its last recommendation was to reduce the amount of tax paid by customers and restaurateurs spe- cialising in healthy menus. Caritas recommends no-waste food apps to give low-income families access to surplus stock