High food prices were one of many negative impacts Canadians felt during pandemic-plagued 2021. And a new report suggests that the problem will only get worse next year.
The Canada Food Price Guide, released today, is an annual report published by Dalhousie University and the University of Guelph that is the most comprehensive data set currently available on a topic that affects all Canadians: food. .
As with everything else, supply chain problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on food prices and availability. Weather events like the heat dome also didn’t help put food on the table.
“The meat counter was a big problem this year,” said Sylvain Charlebois, the report’s principal investigator and a professor studying food distribution and safety at Dalhousie University in Halifax.
“It really made food inflation go up a lot more.”
At this time last year, the report predicted a three to five percent rise in food prices, with a theoretical family of four consisting of a man, a woman, a boy and a girl, on the way. of paying about $ 13,907 to feed in 2021.
It turns out that they had only exceeded $ 106. The report tabulates that the notional family ended up spending $ 13,801 to feed themselves this year.
Grocery Bills Will Increase Even More
In the next year, Charlebois says that food price inflation is on track to be higher with a likely increase of between five and seven percent, or an additional $ 966 for the typical family grocery bill.
“It’s the highest increase we forecast in 12 years, both in dollar terms and in percentage terms,” Charlebois said. “It will not be easy”.
As usual, different types of food are expected to increase in price at different rates, and dairy and baked goods are expected to be comparatively much more expensive, while the culprits of the past, such as meat and seafood, will be seen. comparatively flat.
The report says dairy products will become more expensive due to higher costs for inputs like food, energy and fertilizers, along with higher transportation and labor costs. The Canadian Dairy Commission warned in a report last month, asking the government to allow an 8.4 percent increase in milk prices.
Meanwhile, baked goods will suffer sharp price increases in large part because the hot summer on the prairies was devastating for wheat and other crops, according to the report.
The other reasons for the rebound are varied, but an increasingly important factor is the rising cost of food waste. More than half of all food produced in Canada is thrown away, research suggests, and that inefficiency is finally starting to show up at the cash register at a time when Canadians are counting their pennies more than ever.
That is why some Canadians are trying to do something about it.
Jagger Gordon is the founder of Feed It Forward, a nonprofit program that has established nearly a dozen grocery stores in Canada to provide people with access to nutritious and affordable food.
Gordon, a chef, says he was inspired to develop the idea when he organized events and was appalled at the amount of food that was wasted.
“I wanted to show how we can eliminate that food waste, be socially responsible and restore dignity to people by using it and putting it back in meals and on their tables,” Jagger said in an interview at his location on Dundas St. downtown. from Toronto.
The food on the store shelves comes from various grocery stores, bakeries, processing plants, restaurants, and other agencies in and around the city. Shoppers can come in and explore the selection of foods on offer to cook themselves, or get recipes and food selections pre-prepared on the spot, without necessarily having to worry about whether they can afford it when it’s time to leave the store. For every $ 5 a customer chooses to pay, they can get about $ 20 worth of groceries, Gordon says.
The system works in large part because it takes advantage of foods that other food companies cannot sell but are otherwise perfectly fine: foods that are about to expire, for example, or fresh vegetables that are not the correct shape.
“A lot of grocery stores too, if there’s a grape that has become fuzzy in a package, they will destroy the entire package instead of taking the time to remove it,” Gordon said. “What strikes me is that the resources that are put into all of them have that production so that that plant or product that is developed is destroyed so easily”.
Big discounts possible
Charlebois says there is a growing trend for some stores and consumers to try to reduce that waste by finding ways to sell it to those who want it.
“Supermarkets are empowering consumers to salvage more food [by] showing products that are about to expire at a discount of 25 to 50 percent, “he said.” People are starting to realize that the aesthetic we see in the grocery store is costing us money. “
While many consumers have embraced a new organic food trend, Gordon says it has made food waste even worse in some way. “They stain fast,” he said. “They will be discarded or destroyed sooner.”
Some options
It’s not hard to find Canadians who are changing their habits and making different choices in their grocery cart or on restaurant menus to try to offset the rising costs.
Exploring the aisles of the grocery store in St. John’s, Myrtle Mitchell says she has had to change the way she shop due to higher costs. “The prices are almost double,” he said in an interview, putting pressure on his fixed income.
You try to shop where you can, but you can’t do much. That’s why at the store, he goes straight to the essentials first “then I go around and then I go up and down the extra rows. If I know I have money left, I go and pick up extra groceries that I have extra stock for.”
SEE | How Higher Food Prices Are Affecting This Senior With A Fixed Income:
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Once she pays her bills, Myrtle Mitchell takes what is left and divides it by four to determine how much she can spend each week on food. She is seeing groceries become more expensive and on a steady income, that is problematic. 2:44
It’s a similar story for Nicola Moore in Hamilton. When the pandemic started, he was concerned about access to food, so he turned to gardening to feed his family. “I ended up harvesting … spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes … a variety of vegetables from the garden,” he said in an interview. “That helped me financially because … I got it for free basically just by going and watering every day.”
Gardening was helpful, but ultimately she still needs to go to the store to buy food, and she also says she’s changing the way she does it. “I’m looking for bargains. I’m looking for coupons online. I have an app on my phone that tells me when the sales are.”
Back in Toronto at the pay-what-you-can grocery store, Jerry Oshomah has nothing but rave reviews for what his neighbor Gordon is doing to help Canadians who need help with high food prices. .
“In the pandemic, it’s a bit difficult because people work from home and the pain is a bit high, but that’s okay,” he said, as he bought some soup for himself and drinks for his staff at his nearby office.
“It’s a really good neighborhood store,” he said. “This guy is good, he helps everyone.”