Auckland's GF Depot owner and chef Vivi Cheung with a gluten free muffin. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
The rising cost of everyday goods is making life difficult for many people across the country, and it is being keenly felt by those with Coeliac disease.
For people who can't eat gluten, expensive substitute products are the only option, and they are often more than twice the price of their glutenous counterparts.
A Coeliac New Zealand study in 2021 found gluten-free goods were on average 2.5 times more expensive than regular ones, with some products, like bread, costing 5 times more.
And since then, the cost of food has only risen, last month it was 12 percent higher than May of 2022.
Here are a couple of examples of the difference in cost for everyday food.
Vogels gluten free bread was $8 compared to $5 for regular bread, and there was 170g less in the loaf.
Gluten free pasta cost $1.50 more, and only contained half the amount.
Coeliac New Zealand treasurer Corinne Cameron said she could shave at least $50 off her weekly shop if her daughter was not Coeliac.
Subsidies for Gluten Free food are available, but they are means tested based on income.
Cameron said their members often had to make savings elsewhere in their budget to afford the extra cost.
"We're hearing that it's expensive and it'd be great if there was cheaper options, over the last 10, 20, years there's been a great increase in range that is available, which is amazing, but it comes with a price."
With the rising cost of fresh produce, it was a double whammy for those with Coeliac disease, she said.
"Everything's gone up, at least a couple dollars, and when you're already paying $8 when someone who is not gluten free was paying $2, it makes it very expensive."
Having a child who was Coeliac made it difficult for their family to eat out without planning in advance, Cameron said.
Somewhere that aimed to make that easier was the GF Depot in Auckland's Meadowbank.
Owner and chef Vivi Cheung said running a completely gluten-free restaurant meant having to use expensive ingredients.
"It's tough, but we try to save in other areas, which is, maybe, pick a cheaper location, like this area."
New customers were sceptical at first, but pleasantly suprised once they realised it was the real deal, Cheung said.
"They find out everything is gluten free and they feel like 'wow', we saw tears come out when they saw our cabinet."
There was a growing demand for gluten free food, and people travelled from as far as Tauranga to try their restaurant, she said.
