The colossal cost of feeding teens revealed as kids 'eating parents out of the house'

Daily Record

8 hours ago

Teens are literally eating their parents out of the house, according to a new report.
If you feel like your teens are always hungry, you're not alone. In fact, the absolutely staggering cost of feeding teenagers has been revealed by a new report from Asda, and apparently, it's even worse during the summer holidays.
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Asda surveyed 2,000 UK parents with school-age children, revealing that the cost of feeding teens was a shocking £22,932 per year. For house-holds with with kids aged 13-18, the big weekly supermarket food shop now adds up to £189 per week, according to findings.
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Surplus spending for two weekly 'top up' food shops at £64 each and two food deliveries averaging £42 each, as well as an additional £40 cash extracted from parents for snacks and lunches while out the house brings the total cost of feeding teenagers to £441 every week.
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An astounding 89 per cent of parents with teens say their kids are always hungry, with the new data revealing that a multipack of crisps lasts just four days in an average home.
The research also revealed that a carton of milk being is finished within three days, and that a punnet of grapes lasts just two days in the average teen household.
And with the kids home all summer long, three in 10 parents (29%) say that their weekly shop disappears twice as fast over the six-to-eight-week holiday.
What's worse, it's not just our own children tucking in, but four in 10 (38%) of surveyed parents even say that their children's friends help themselves to food in their house when they come over - so much that 15 per cent encourage their kids to stay at other parents' houses so they can eat their food instead.
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But our teenagers can't be given all the blame for the colossal cost of feeding them, as it's no secret that budgets are already under pressure.
According to the latest Asda Income Tracker, 40 per cent of UK households saw a drop in income in June 2025, which hit already-struggling families hardest, with weekly shortfalls of £74 between income and basic costs.
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Mum of two hungry boys Elizabeth Nichols, 40 from Bristol said: "It's only the start of the summer holidays and already the kids are eating me out of house and home.
"It feels like I'm constantly topping up the fridge and cupboards.
"Any parent of a teen will know, feeding them is like throwing food into a bottomless pit, especially when they're active like mine, constantly riding their bikes or kicking a ball around in the park. They are literally always hungry."
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Aurelia Blair, a 36 year-old mum of three teens, added: 'Summer holidays always mean a big increase in how much we're spending on food.
"It feels like the fridge is emptying faster than we can fill it. I really welcome any help to make our shop go further.'
A spokesperson for Asda added: 'We know families are feeling the pressure- especially during the school holidays when the pace (and the portions) pick up. That's why we're committed to helping parents stretch their budgets without compromising on quality."
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