Lockdown Changed Spain’s Cooking And Dining Habits

Malaga Food Bank Helps Nearly 60,000 People

According to the report, the average Spaniard ate 99.7 kilos of fruit, 87.05 of potatoes and fresh vegetables, and 74 litres of milk in 2020. Credit: Pixabay

Cooking and dining habits changed in Spain during last year’s lockdown, according to statistics released by the government yesterday.

ON June 3, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, presented the ‘Report on Food Consumption in Spain 2020’ which confirms that, in comparison with 2019, expenditure on food – inside and outside the home – stood at €102,082.72 million, 3.2 per cent less, while the volume of food products and ingredients in purchased in shops for use at home grew by 4.4 per cent.

“The pandemic has inescapably marked the eating habits of Spaniards last year and has generated a change in consumption habits. By staying at home longer due to restrictions, consumption was concentrated there and it decreased significantly in bars and restaurants where it tends to have higher added value,” the Minister said.

Households allocated 14.2 per cent more money to their food shopping budgets in 2020 representing 78 per cent of the total spent on food and drink, but it does not compensate for the 36.8 per cent drop in the spending in bars and restaurants.

If there was one upside, it was that Spaniards rediscovered the joys of cooking at home and “traditional menus” including casseroles and baking, the Minister said.

Fresh products topped the list, but sales of “pantry staples” such as flours, pizza bases and puff pastry doughs, legumes, sugar, rice or pasta increased considerably.

According to the report, the average Spaniard ate 99.7 kilos of fruit, 87.05 of potatoes and fresh vegetables, and 74 litres of milk.


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Deirdre Tynan

Deirdre Tynan is an award-winning journalist who enjoys bringing the best in news reporting to Spain’s largest English-language newspaper, Euro Weekly News. She has previously worked at The Mirror, Ireland on Sunday and for news agencies, media outlets and international organisations in America, Europe and Asia. A huge fan of British politics and newspapers, Deirdre is equally fascinated by the political scene in Madrid and Sevilla. She moved to Spain in 2018 and is based in Jaen.

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