Across Nigerian households, a quiet but profound shift is underway, as families reorganise their meals, reduce portions and rethink what it means to eat.
The worsening cost-of-living crisis deepened its hold on millions of Nigerians in the first quarter of 2026, with fresh data revealing another round of increases in the prices of basic food items, further stretching household budgets already worn thin by years of inflation.
A mother of four in Ikeja, Adebimpe Olatunji, captured the daily reality facing many families when she said: “We manage, the children may take bread before school, then the proper meal comes later. Sometimes everybody skips breakfast.”
Another mother, Patricia, described the shift in expectations with equal bluntness, saying: “It is no longer about eating well, it is just making sure everybody eats something.”
For Angela, a civil servant and single mother, the erosion of purchasing power had become most visible through absence, explaining that “you notice your salary more through what it cannot do anymore.”
Teachers working in public schools have begun observing the consequences firsthand, with Tunde Lawal, who teaches in Lagos, noting that some pupils now arrive without food for break time.
“You can tell when a child has not eaten properly. Some struggle to pay attention,” he said.
At Mile 12 market in Lagos, traders confirmed that buying patterns had changed significantly, with pepper seller Ope noting: “Everything is now small, small. Before, somebody buys a basket, now it may just be a handful.”
The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, Consumer Price Index report for 2025 showed that food inflation remained in double digits for most of the year, with rice, beans, yam and maize recording sharp price increases across urban centres.
In Lagos, rice that sold for between N250 and N300 per kilogram in 2015 now fetches between N1,800 and N2,200, while beans have moved from roughly N300 per kilogram to as much as N2,800.
A crate of eggs that once cost below N1,000 now sells for up to N6,000 in some parts of the city.
The latest NBS Food Price Watch, covering December 2025 to March 2026, showed that sweet potatoes recorded the sharpest increase during the period, rising by 10.03 per cent from N752.86 to N828.34.
Irish potatoes followed with a 7.45 per cent increase to N2,044.40, while the average price of one agric egg climbed by 6.44 per cent to N256.48 and the price of a crate rose by 3.38 per cent to N6,127.62.
Yam tubers rose by 4.38 per cent to N2,144.70, with Delta State recording one of the highest average prices in the country at N2,680.21.
White beans increased by 6.31 per cent to N1,276.63, and brown beans rose by 6.06 per cent to N1,325.85, dealing a significant blow to low-income households that have long depended on legumes as an affordable source of protein.
Nigeria’s annual inflation rate, which had declined for 12 consecutive months to 15.06 per cent in February, reversed course and rose to 15.38 per cent in March and 15.69 per cent in April, with annual food inflation reaching 16.06 per cent in April.
When household incomes are stretched, nutrition is often the first casualty, with single mother Onome David, who earns a minimum wage, explaining: “To survive, you remove meat first. Then fish, then you adjust every other thing.”
Community nutrition practitioner, Eunice Obi, said she frequently observed this pattern in low and middle-income neighbourhoods, warning that “people depend more on starch now because they just want food that fills the stomach.”
Nutrition researcher, Dr. Shoba Suri, cautioned that the health consequences of such dietary shifts are not always immediately apparent, noting: “When families switch mostly to cheaper staples, fruits, vegetables and protein reduce first. The body may still feel full, but important nutrients are missing.”
Paediatric nutrition specialist at the University of Colorado, Carina Venter, warned that poor diets might affect growth and brain development in children, even when they appeared to eat regularly.
The President of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Professor Salisu Abubakar, said poor nutrition often developed quietly before any visible health problems emerged.
Former president of the society, Professor Ngozi Nnam, stressed that quantity alone was no measure of adequate nutrition, saying: “A child may eat regularly and still suffer malnutrition if the meals lack variety.”
Managing Director of Kamary Nutrition Consult, Mrs. Amaka Nwaora, urged Nigerians not to assume that nutritious meals required expensive ingredients, saying: “Local foods are still some of the best options. Beans, millet, sweet potatoes, ugwu, groundnuts and local vegetables are nutritious and often cheaper than processed foods.”
“A shopping list helps people focus on what they actually need. Buying in bulk markets can save money too,” she added.
Compounding the crisis, the federal government has raised alarm over a deepening food safety emergency, with the Minister Of State For Health And Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako, disclosing that unsafe food was responsible for nearly 50 million illnesses and more than 53,000 deaths in Nigeria every year.
Speaking at a ministerial briefing in Abuja to mark the 2026 World Food Safety Day, themed “From Burden to Solutions – Safe Food Everywhere,” Dr. Salako said the combined toll translated into a staggering 4.26 million years of healthy life lost to sickness, disability and premature death.
“Most of this burden falls heavily on children under five who account for more than 80 per cent of all foodborne disease burden in Nigeria,” he said.
He further warned that “the true cost of unsafe food in Nigeria is not only measured in sickness and death but also in the lost developmental potential of our children.”
Over 40 million diarrhoeal illnesses annually were linked to dangerous pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, Shigella and Rotavirus, according to the minister.
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry Of Health And Social Welfare, Ms. Kachollom Daju, stressed that food safety and healthy nutrition could no longer be treated as separate concerns, warning that microbial contamination and poor dietary practices were converging to deepen the country’s public health burden.
“This year’s theme challenges us to move beyond understanding the problem and focus on practical, coordinated and sustainable solutions that will ensure every Nigerian has access to safe and healthy food,” she said.
The World Health Organisation, WHO, urged Nigeria to act on newly available country-specific evidence, stating that “safe food is not a luxury, it is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of health, nutrition and economic productivity.
Editor’s Note: The names used in this story are pseudonyms to protect the identities of those involved.
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