Food Inflation and Wellbeing of Households in Aba, Abia State

Food inflation has become a major challenge affecting household welfare in Nigeria, particularly in urban commercial centres such as Aba. This study examined how rising food prices influence household expenditure patterns, nutritional quality, and coping strategies among residents of Aba, Abia State. Using a descriptive survey design, data were collected from 346 households through structured questionnaires and analyzed with descriptive statistics, simple linear regression, and Pearson correlation techniques. The findings showed that rising food prices have significantly weakened household purchasing power, as most respondents reported difficulties maintaining previous consumption levels and increasingly substituted preferred foods with cheaper alternatives. The regression results revealed that food inflation significantly affects household expenditure patterns (R² = 0.453; F = 323.85; p < 0.05), forcing households to devote a larger share of their income to food purchases. The study also found a significant negative effect of food inflation on nutritional quality (R² = 0.347; F = 172.45; p < 0.05), reflected in reduced consumption of protein-rich foods, lower dietary diversity, and greater dependence on cheaper food options. In addition, coping strategies adopted by households were strongly associated with the severity of food inflation effects (r = 0.611; p < 0.01). The study concludes that persistent food inflation poses serious threats to household welfare and recommends food price stabilization policies, improved social protection programmes, and support for local food production to strengthen household resilience.