Many Canadians have to change or sacrifice some of their living and eating habits as rising food prices are hampering their wallets.
Last week, the Statistical Office of Canada reported that Canadians paid 9.7% more for food in April 2022 than a year earlier, while the average hourly wage increased by about 3.3% on an annual basis.
Basic foods such as fresh fruit have jumped 10 percent, while pasta prices have risen nearly 20 percent.
Statistics in Canada blame the Russian invasion of Ukraine, mixed with rising fuel prices.
Cecilia Rands, a 32-year-old mother from Regina, was not surprised when she was told about the change in food costs during the year. She said she saw a “bright” change in sticker prices.
“It definitely affected the choices I make in the grocery store,” she said.
“In the end, the bills are as they are, and I can’t [always afford] the things I wish I could do. “
She looks for brands without a name or communicates with siblings about sales and good prices in the city. She jokes that she has to do mathematical equations to decide if driving to different shops for cheaper food is worth the gas.
LISTEN | CBC’s Dane Patterson is shattering the effects on Saskatchewan people of rising food costs
The Morning Edition – Sask10: 59 The price of food is rising, but we have to eat. Hear some people in Regina cut costs
Have you noticed that your grocery bill takes a bigger bite than your salary? You are not the only one. Dane Patterson of the CBC took a closer look at the effect of high food costs on people’s choices – and how they cope.
Rands said the price of inflation is taxation. It has come to the point that she will eat more lightly when her children are under the care of her ex-husband, and will take out the richer and more offensive dishes only when they return to her home.
“I will have some frozen vegetables, toast and peanut butter for dinner or as a shoulder, and I find different ways to eat without having to cook a full meal when I’m alone,” she said.
“These are the discounts I make so I can provide better food for my children when they are with me.”
Sometimes that means taking “take home today” foods, which have reduced prices and are approaching expiration dates, she said.
This is a sophisticated game made more for those with dietary restrictions, such as the seven-year-old daughter of Crystal Nieviadomy with type 1 diabetes.
Nieviadomy is careful to pack her daughter’s snacks. She found that high-carbohydrate snacks were cheaper than others, but required her to take extra doses of insulin. This is a balancing act.
Crystal Nieviadomi says she expected the universe to return to equilibrium as the pandemic drew to a close and restrictions eased, but food prices added a new layer of stress. (Matt Duguid / CBC News)
Nieviadomy posted on Facebook a group called Regina Moms, asking what others have done to manage their budgets amid rising food prices.
“I know we’re not the only family who has these tough conversations every week, coming home after a Sunday purchase, just thinking, ‘Oh my God, I spent $ 100 more than I planned, and now what that means for other things.’ which we planned to do this week? “she said.
She said the answers showed she was right. Everyone’s wallets are lighter when you leave the store.
“Pretty good, everything is going up,” said Tim Schultz, co-owner of Regina Local and Fresh grocery store.
“In some cases, local products may be more expensive than a similar product you can get that is made outside the country. I think that affects us in a slightly different way.”
Tim Schultz, co-owner of Local and Fresh in Regina, says the price of food has risen sharply, but he sees it especially in meat and prepared foods such as frozen pizzas. (Richard Eikutei / CBC News)
His shop advertises a 100% Canadian product, and the production comes from Saskatchewan farms.
Leisle said he was saving money on things like shipping costs, but that farming was also becoming more expensive, leading to higher prices in his shop.
“Customers have less to spend and are starting to decide what [they’re] ready to spend, “he said.
Local and Fresh at Regina offers all Canadian products. Owner Tim Schultz said that while the business saves money on shipping by importing many of its products from Saskatchewan, it is not immune to rising food costs. (Richard Eikutei / CBC News)
Regina Food Bank said it sends about 900 kilograms more food a day in March than in January 2022.
LISTEN | The CEO of Regina Food Bank talks about the increased demand along with rising food prices
Afternoon edition – Sask8: 03Food hinders high demand as inflation raises food prices
The price of almost everything is rising these days and this is making more people struggle to put food on the table. Regina Food Bank says there is a large increase in the number of obstacles to providing it every day. John Bailey is the president of Regina Food Bank and he joined us in today’s show.
In Regina Education and Action on Child Hunger, or REACH, workers noticed that the number of people who requested the family boxes program – a food box bought at a wholesale price and sold at a price to people living on social assistance – was reduced. half. Even at reduced prices, the boxes are too many for some.
Matt Leysl, executive director of REACH, said that between rising food costs and the widely criticized Saskatchewan income support program introduced to replace two older programs, people are falling deeper into food insecurity.
“For people [who] are on social assistance, they just feel the crisis of lack of dollars and no [getting] the help they used to receive under the old program, “Leisl said.
Parrying the high cost of food
Some people find innovative or subtle ways to circumvent food prices.
Matt Thompson said he has an open garden at his home in Regina in the summer, but has been hampered by winters in Saskatchewan.
Last winter, he built a hydroponics farm using PVC pipes and help from a local store.
He started with lettuce, then added tomatoes, cucumbers and recently prepared for peppers.
“In January, I was going to go downstairs and cut lettuce for the salad. I think I also saved a lot of money,” he said. “It’s a closed system, so I don’t add more water than usual – it’s relatively cheap.”
As a meat lover, Thompson said he relied on market wisdom from his father, who often knows the best price and place for different cuts of meat.
“If I could grow it at home, I definitely would,” he laughed.
Others, such as Raiza Ocampo, a mother of three at Regina and known on social media as YQR Couponbae, rely on classic methods: coupons and sales.
It uses phone applications for digital flyers, such as Flipp and Reebee, to find the cheapest price and price match in stores.
Ocampo also offers to monitor the prices of some of your favorite items, taking into account the cheapest price, and then buy in bulk when you see that it reaches this low value.
“I would work on dealing with any of your high costs in a grocery store,” Ocampo said.
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