Lunch on a Budget
Prices of houses are falling, prices of cars and vans are being slashed, and there are sales and special offers everywhere, so why are we not seeing any drops in the price of food to go? For ages I have felt that €4.40+ for a regular sandwich is outrageous and in these times of belt tightening many people do not have that kind of money to spend on what is only a snack.
While I understand that the dreaded ‘R’ word ie rent, is a big problem for people who run such outlets, surely selling really good sandwiches for €2.49 and cappuccino for €1.50 would create a queue all day.
A bowl of vegetable soup can cost from €3.75 to €7.50 at lunchtime around Galway and surely that is also outrageous. Having made large saucepans of homemade vegetable soup I reckon it costs about 30 cents to make a decent size bowl, 50 cents tops. If the average multiplier for restaurants is four, why does vegetable soup not cost €2.00 or €2.50?
The answer is that the price is set to a level of ‘what the public will pay,’ hence if €4 or €6 is being paid by us the public that is what we will continue to be charged. These kinds of prices are simply a rip off and it is time we pushed back by complaining and looking at other ways of getting a snack for a reasonable amount of dosh.
I understand when restaurants charge €6 or €7 for soup when it is a product that is special and has been created with unusual ingredients but bog standard vegetable should be about €2.50 a bowl when served with no frills and fancy table cloths.
Try making a sandwich at home and bringing it to work with you, and even better, put the filling in one container and the buttered bread in another then you will not have a soggy snack. Bring a well made soup like Cully and Scully or Browns that you can re- heat in the company microwave.
To price it very simply:
Two slices of bread =10 cents to a max of 25 cents, one slice of ham or turkey = 40 cents to a max of 90 cents, some butter, relish and mustard = 15 cents. Total = 65 cents to a maximum of €1.30. Soup, approx €2.50