Kirstin Ghamrawi avoids shopping at mainstream supermarkets.
The mother of six from Adelaide's north said the cost of some products on her weekly shopping list had doubled in recent years, making it increasingly harder for her to stick to a budget.
"It's increased to the point where I constantly find myself saying to friends and family: 'I don't know how some people are surviving'," she said.
"Even things like two-minute noodles, which is like a standard lunchtime snack, they've doubled in price.
"It's a huge crunch."
While the cost-of-living crisis has impacted all corners of Australia, Adelaide has experienced the sharpest increase in food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation over the past three years.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows prices cumulatively increased by 16.4 per cent in Adelaide between 2021 and 2023, compared to 16 per cent in Melbourne and 14.8 per cent in Sydney.
To combat soaring prices, Ms Ghamrawi now shops at low-cost grocery store, The Food Centre.
The not-for-profit organisation in Adelaide's north provides donated and lower-cost groceries, clothing and household goods to people living on low incomes or who are experiencing financial difficulties.
"It's just been a relief … because when you do that mainstream shopping all the time and you come to a place like this, you do notice that difference," Ms Ghamrawi said.
Demand for food relief spikes as prices rise
A growing number of people in Adelaide are turning to low-cost grocery stores to combat rising grocery prices.
The Food Centre chief executive, James Chapman, said between December and January alone, demand for the service spiked by 35 per cent, with about 650 households currently shopping at the store each week.
In August, statewide food relief organisation Foodbank SA reported a 57 per cent jump in the number of families seeking support.
"Unfortunately, cost of living has gone out of control completely," Mr Chapman said.
"Wages haven't kept up with the cost of living and inflation has been absolutely crazy.
"It's impossible for people at the moment."
Mr Chapman said in recent months, he had noticed an increase in the number of employed people seeking support from The Food Centre.
"They've got a job, they have an income, but the dollar is not stretching to pay the rent and buy food at the same time," he said.
"They've got to make the choice: do we eat, or do we heat?"
Call for SA parliamentary inquiry
On Wednesday, South Australia's upper house will vote on a motion lodged by Greens MLC Robert Simms to launch a parliamentary committee to inquire into grocery prices in SA.
If established, the committee would consider the impact of high grocery prices on consumers, particularly those on low incomes, as well as the prevalence of "price gouging" practices and anti-competitive behaviour among grocery retailers.
Similar inquiries are already underway at a federal level and in Queensland and New South Wales.
"We really need the parliament to look at what is happening, why these prices are skyrocketing out of control and see what levers the state parliament can pull," Mr Simms said.
"We've got Coles and Woolies that have made over $1 billion in profit over the last financial year and yet we've got people struggling to make ends meet, struggling to be able to afford to buy essentials like groceries.
"That's just not right."
Retailers 'not immune' to price rises
A Coles spokesperson said the retailer was "not immune to the increased cost of doing business", with energy prices, the cost of logistics and packaging all becoming more expensive.
"Our suppliers are also challenged with many of the same increases and, rightly so, we have experienced a greater volume of supplier price increase requests which we have to balance," they said.
"We will continue to engage in informed discussion around the factors which influence supermarket pricing."
Woolworths declined to comment on Mr Simms's proposed inquiry, but its chief executive, Brad Banducci, previously said that food inflation had moderated in recent months and he expected that to continue throughout 2024.
"We know many Australian families are doing it tough and looking for relief at the check-out," he said.
Mr Simms's inquiry is supported by fellow crossbencher and independent MLC Frank Pangallo but he is yet to secure backing from the major parties.
South Australia's Consumer Affairs Minister, Andrea Michaels, told the ABC the state government would examine Mr Simms's proposed inquiry "on its merits".
"The state government is committed to doing everything it can to provide cost of living relief for South Australians," she said.
"The most recent budget included the biggest cost of living relief package in the state's history — worth more than $470 million.
"The federal government has tasked the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) [with] a 12-month review into pricing and competition in the supermarket sector, which the state government supports."