The Araby family lives in Shubra-al-Khama, a poor, congested suburb in northern Cairo. Mohammed, 50, has worked as an accountant for 32 years, and earns 2,000 Egyptian pounds (LE) a month, or £200, with which he has to support his wife, Hoda, and three children.

Ahmed, 23, is their oldest son. After two years of university, he has dropped out to try and find work in order to help support the family. His ad hoc work as a handyman or builder pays LE20 a day. Ahmed's younger brother Kareem is 20, and studying for career in the tourism industry. Their 13-year-old sister, Omnia, is at school. The whole family, including Mohammed's elderly mother, aged 80, shares a three-bedroom apartment.

Mohammed has never thought of himself as well-off, but in previous years was able to save enough from his salary to give the family a few treats - a summer holiday in Alexandria, a monthly picnic together or a meal.

Now, thanks to the rising food prices, these luxuries are a thing of the past. All of Mohammed's salary goes on basic essentials, and he has had to sell his car to continue providing for the family and cut back on the amount spent on on Omnia's education.

Here we look at their average daily diet during a working week

Monday

Breakfast: T'amiyya (Egyptian falafel), fool (fava beans), milk, bread. Cost this year: LE5 (last year: LE3).

Lunch: Beef, tomatoes, cucumber, aubergine, bread, mulukhiyya (green leaf soup), green beans. Cost this year: LE 47 (LE31.50).

Dinner: Yoghurt, bread, cheese. Cost this year: LE 8.50 (LE3.50).

Cost for daily food this year: LE60.5 (LE38).

Hoda used to be able to buy lots of dried food that could be stored for the week ahead, but now the family doesn't have enough money to do that and instead has to shop on a day-by-day basis. The cost of tomatoes and meat has risen by 50%, while most other vegetables have doubled in price.

Tuesday

Breakfast: Bread, fool, t'amiyya. Cost this year: LE 4 (LE2).

Lunch: Butter, tea, sugar, potatoes. Cost this year: LE 32 (LE20).

Dinner: Milk, yoghurt, cheese. Cost this year: LE 7.50 (LE4.50).

Cost for daily food this year: LE43.50 (LE26.50).

The family would normally have bought some fruit for the children today as well as some sweets to share in the home, but now there is no money left over for these luxuries. Butter alone has gone up almost 70% in the past year.

Wednesday

Breakfast: Bread, fool, t'amiyya. Cost this year: LE 4 (LE2).

Lunch: Potatoes, cucumber, tomato, spices, fruit. Cost this year: LE 20 (LE11).

Dinner: Milk, yoghurt, cheese. Cost this year: LE 6.50 (LE4.50).

Cost for daily food this year: LE 30.50 (LE17.50).

Wednesday was the day that Mohammed and Hoda's three children would each receive a small allowance to spend on treat themselves on whatever they wanted. Now, with the cost of potatoes having almost doubled, the allowances have been stopped.

Thursday

Breakfast: Bread, fool, t'amiyya. Cost this year: LE4 (LE2).

Lunch: Fried chicken, cucumber, pasta, aubergine. Cost this year: LE26 (LE15.50).

Dinner: Milk, yoghurt, cheese. Cost this year: LE7.50 (LE4.50).

Cost for daily food this year: LE37.50 (LE22).

Once again, Hoda has had to chose between buying meat or fruit for her children. Today she has gone for chicken, the price of which has gone up 50%, leaving her with nothing left to spend on oranges or mangoes. The price of cheese, like most dairy products, has also skyrocketed – up 100% from last year.

Friday

Breakfast: Eggs, bread, fool, t'amiyya. Cost this year: LE9 (LE4.50).

Lunch: Fish, cucumber, tomato, cooking oil. Cost this year: LE 33 (LE17).

Dinner: Milk, French bread, yoghurt, cheese. Cost this year: LE 10 (LE6).

Cost for daily food this year: LE 52 (LE27.50).

It's the beginning of the Egyptian weekend and the family's food budget is exhausted. The cheapest oil they could find in the market has doubled in price from LE4 to LE8 . Hoda used to spend the weekend decorating the family apartment, buying new covers for the sofa and chairs, but that's now a thing of the past.

Total cost of food shopping for five days this year: LE224

Total cost of food shopping for five days last year: LE131.5