Food Costs Deepen Household Financial Strain as One in Five Households Spends Over 75% of Income on Meals
Escalating living costs are exerting growing pressure on Ghanaian households, with new data indicating that food expenses are absorbing a larger portion of incomes and increasing vulnerability.
A report by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) shows that close to one in five households spends more than 75 percent of total expenditure on food, highlighting worsening financial strain.
This development is leaving many families with limited resources to cater for other critical needs such as healthcare, education, and housing.
The findings, contained in the latest Mobile Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (mVAM) survey, point to an emerging reality in which food consumption levels may appear steady, but affordability is becoming increasingly difficult.
“Economic pressure matters: households spending a large share of their income on food are more exposed to shocks,” the report stated.
The data also indicates that households with the highest food spending burdens are more likely to experience poor or borderline food consumption, strengthening the link between rising living costs and food insecurity.
Affordability, rather than availability, has now become the main challenge.
According to the report, over 90 percent of households that were unable to access markets cited lack of money as the key reason, reflecting the growing strain on incomes.
The impact is particularly acute among agriculture-dependent households.
The report notes that about 16.9 percent of households engaged in small and medium-scale farming fall into poor or borderline food consumption categories—almost six times higher than households that depend on savings and trading.
Despite these challenges, many households are quietly adjusting to cope.
Common responses include shifting to cheaper food options, reducing portion sizes, and cutting back on spending for essential services.
However, the Ghana Statistical Service warns that such coping strategies carry long-term risks.
“Coping is not neutral. It reflects a drawdown on resilience and signals that households are managing today at the cost of tomorrow,” the report noted.
The Statistical Service is therefore calling on policymakers to prioritise measures aimed at strengthening income stability, expanding livelihood opportunities, and improving market systems to cushion households against further shocks.
It cautions that without prompt intervention, rising cost pressures could weaken the fragile stability currently seen in national food consumption, leaving more households at risk of food insecurity.
