Iranian families are grappling with a deepening food stress and some have been forced to eliminate core staples like red meat, chicken, fish, eggs and fruits from their baskets due to skyrocketing prices and stagnant wages.
This is according to text and audio notes sent to Iran International TV by its audience in Tehran.
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.
Iran International asked its audience to share and submit messages on the effects of rising costs on their daily grocery shopping.
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.
"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.
"The majority—or like 80%—of food basket items eliminated: chicken, eggs, dairy and tons more. The remaining 20%? A hard struggle to provide," one message said.
'Scarce list'
Some listed the items they had to cut from their grocery lists due to high prices and lack of affordability.
"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.
Messages indicate that the most essential parts of daily life are vanishing from consumers' baskets.
"Meat, fish, rice, chicken, plus beans and fruits are all out. No way we could afford such luxuries," one message said.
"Every imaginable item gone from our basket. No meat in six months. Life's brutal—my 16-year-old son dropped out of school to work. Still can't cover daily needs. God curse the clerical government and Ali Khamenei."
A water shortage in Iran is becoming more widespread with people reporting pressure drops and low-quality water even as Tehran officials deny reports of rationing.
