On the same day the government unveiled New Zealand's first national infrastructure plan, promising billions for roads and utilities, South Island families are dealing with a more immediate infrastructure crisis: the one in their pantries.

The average South Island household outside the main centres spent $15,305 on food in 2024. That's up from $12,509 in 2020 — a jump of $2,796 in just four years. (Source: Stats NZ, food-price-index-regional)

Here's the twist nobody's talking about: that's not actually a real increase. With New Zealand's inflation running at roughly 20-25% since 2019, those 2024 dollars are worth significantly less than 2020 dollars. When you adjust for what money can actually buy, South Island families are spending about the same — or even slightly less — than they were before COVID.

Which means they're eating less. Buying cheaper cuts. Skipping the fresh stuff.

The numbers reveal the squeeze: food costs rose 22% between 2020 and 2024, almost perfectly tracking overall inflation. But wages? They haven't kept pace everywhere. A household earning $70,000 in 2020 would need to be making $87,500 today just to stand still. Most aren't.

This explains the behaviours you're seeing everywhere. The reason your local supermarket now has budget ranges taking up half an aisle. The reason KiwiSaver withdrawal applications are up. The reason food banks are serving families who never needed them before.

Look at the trajectory: $12,509 in 2020, $15,305 in 2024. In raw dollars, that's a 22% jump. But in real purchasing power? Families are treading water at best, drowning at worst.

The South Island figure sits in the middle of the pack nationally — not the highest, not the lowest. But for rural communities already dealing with storm damage cutting them off from work, there's no buffer left. When your weekly shop costs $294 and a weather event costs you three days of wages, the maths stops working.

The government can build all the infrastructure it wants. But the infrastructure that matters most to South Island families right now is the one that gets affordable food from farm to table. And that system — judging by these numbers — is asking households to pay more while getting less.

The $15,305 figure isn't just a number. It's a household budget stretched to breaking point, measured in meals skipped and compromises made.