“Inflation hasn’t changed my habits”: in Eva’s fridge, 3,300 euros a month

Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you who you are. For our brand new format soberly titled “In the fridge of…”, readers of all ages and with different incomes open the door to their kitchen and fridge.

• Name or nickname : Vigil
• Age : 77 years old
• Place of residence : Valchiusa
• People living under the same roof and their age : 0
• Family income : €3300
• Monthly grocery budget : €400
• Dietary specificities (diet, religious restrictions, allergies, etc.) : Nobody

Eve’s regular food purchases

Every day I regularly buy fruit, vegetables, bread for my personal consumption and possibly for my guests. I go to the market once a week.

I prefer local shops like the bakery, otherwise I go to a big shop like Auchan or Leclerc once or twice a month to do other shopping.

Eve prefers local to organic

At the market I only buy local and rarely organic products. For me, in environmental terms, local has a more positive impact than organic which comes from far away. I have very limited faith in the health benefits of organic. When organic plots are adjacent to non-organic plots, are products labeled organic truly organic? The local is fresh and usually tastes very good, as it hasn’t travelled.

In supermarkets I prefer distributor brands, cheaper and equally good quality, never low-end, sometimes high-end to satisfy me or to entertain me. Sometimes products with short expiry dates to combat food waste.

Meat, fish, processed and frozen products…

I buy fresh meat and fish twice a month when I shop in supermarkets and freeze them. As for taste, I eat less and less meat and prefer quality. I eat more fish than I did a few years ago. I also eat canned fish, tuna, mackerel, sardines… When I entertain, I always serve meat or fish.

I live alone, so I cook and I like it, no problem, I cook every day or sometimes for several days. I almost never eat commercially prepared meals, full of processed products, which are bad for my health and the environment and which promote excess weight. The rare exceptions concern products that I consider reliable and which are very good, for example Picard frozen foods.

Average budget of €60 for restaurants

I never have meals delivered. I go to the restaurant once or twice a month for an average budget of 60 euros, except when invited, the budget easily explodes, but what a pleasure!

I can’t do without dark chocolate with my coffee. My latest gastronomic indulgence: a homemade crème caramel in an unreasonable amount.

Purchasing power management

Honestly, inflation hasn’t changed my consumption habits, my budget allows me to absorb the price increase. This does not prevent me from considering the decrease in purchasing power unacceptable for those with low incomes and who have to settle for mediocre quality to survive.

Ecological impact

I am very careful about my ecological impact, I never buy out-of-season products that arrive from the other side of the world by plane and have no taste. I eat less meat for taste, but I’m happy that it reduces my carbon footprint.