Just a few years ago, a box of mac and cheese felt like it fed an entire family of three. Things have certainly changed since then, with the public noticing the very real Shrinkflation happening before their very eyes. Now, bags of chips are only half filled, and candy bars appear much smaller than they did before. One New York woman noticed Shrinkflation in action when she started paying close attention to how much she was spending at the grocery store. To show what these companies are getting away with, she simply makes a box of mac and cheese.
TikToker @chickpeanoodles says that “groceries are more expensive and now they’re lying about how much they’re actually putting in the boxes.” She brings out a box of mac and cheese to demonstrate what she calls the “mac and cheese conspiracy.” In her video, she shows how food companies are “ripping us off.” She makes an entire box of mac and cheese that should feed several people. She shows the display on the side of the box, which says it can make three one-cup servings.
Chickpea shows the mac and cheese noodles in the box to her audience. There’s so little that you can barely see them on camera until she pours them into her boiling water. She follows the ingredient list to the T on camera so nobody can accuse her of altering the recipe. So, does the mac and cheese actually feed three people, as it claims? Unsurprisingly, no. She’s only able to scrounge two cups’ worth, and there’s a tiny little bit left over in the pan. That’s definitely not the three cups that they claim you’ll get, and it’s infuriating. If a family were looking forward to being able to eat, somebody would miss out.
Chickpea says, “If you’ve been feeling like your boxes of mac and cheese aren’t feeding as many people anymore, it’s ‘cause they’re NOT.” Shrinkflation has made groceries more expensive, but you’re just not getting as much food. This can be devastating to families who already struggle to make ends meet.
Commenters shared their outrage after noticing the same things happening to them. One commenter stated, “This should be a class action lawsuit.” Another shared their personal story, “My gen X mom finally believed me about shrinkflation after she was making a dish that she’s been making our entire lives and there wasn’t enough to cover the whole pan. She was like, ‘It’s always only taken one bag’ yea… That’s what we’ve been saying…”
