This is according to text and audio notes sent to Iran International TV by its audience in Tehran.<\/p>\n
Number of households report barer tables, school truancy and outright hunger, with blame leveled at the government for policies that have turned affordable meals into luxuries.<\/p>\n
Iran International asked its audience to share and submit messages on the effects of rising costs on their daily grocery shopping.<\/p>\n
Families, from urban renters to rural households, describe slashing most of their food budgets, surviving on basics like low-quality rice, potatoes and bread while dreaming of proteins long unaffordable.<\/p>\n
“Staples like red meat, chicken and fish are gone. If this government stays, other foods will vanish gradually, like it or not,” another message said.<\/p>\n
“The majority\u2014or like 80%\u2014of food basket items eliminated: chicken, eggs, dairy and tons more. The remaining 20%? A hard struggle to provide,” one message said.<\/p>\n
‘Scarce list’<\/p>\n
Some listed the items they had to cut from their grocery lists due to high prices and lack of affordability.<\/p>\n
“We had to cut chicken, eggs, rice, fish, shrimp. Also nuts and dried fruits, including pistachios, hazelnuts; high-priced fruits, sweets are out,” another message said.<\/p>\n
Messages indicate that the most essential parts of daily life are vanishing from consumers’ baskets.<\/p>\n
“Meat, fish, rice, chicken, plus beans and fruits are all out. No way we could afford such luxuries,” one message said.<\/p>\n
“Every imaginable item gone from our basket. No meat in six months. Life’s brutal\u2014my 16-year-old son dropped out of school to work. Still can’t cover daily needs. God curse the clerical government and Ali Khamenei.”<\/p>\n