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Rising prices are forcing more Canadians to make difficult decisions, leaving even middle-class families to choose between buying the food they need and paying their bills.
Soon study by Food Banks Canada found that almost one in five Canadians reported being hungry in the past two years.
With the war in Ukraine contributing to the biggest cost of living crisis of the 21st century, according to UN report released this weekeven families in richer countries feel pressured.
Inflation in Canada peaked in three decades in April, reaches almost seven percent.
“The war in Ukraine has caught people around the world between a rock and a hard place,” a UN briefing said Global Crisis Response Group countries.
“The scale is the severe price shocks in the food, energy and fertilizer markets due to the war … The anvil is the extremely fragile context in which this crisis came; a world facing the cascading crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. “
Middle-class families who are just passing away
The current situation is troubling people like Dave Arseno of Moncton, NB
He said that before the COVID-19 pandemic, which was announced in early 2020, he would describe his family of four as middle class. Now, he said, they live from paycheck to paycheck.
“I feel depressed,” Arseno said. “It’s frustrating because it’s not your fault your whole lifestyle is changing.”
Feeding his family, which includes 11-year-old twins, is difficult, even with double incomes, said Arseno, who works for the newspaper and chairs a local union.
Both he and his wife, an office administrator, have union jobs with standardized annual increases, but he said that is still not enough to cope with rising costs.
“It’s a definite struggle,” he said.
Canadians are forced to cut as inflation shrinks their budgets
Toronto residents share how to deal with inflation, from looking at what they spend in grocery stores to sticking to basic shopping.
Arseno said that before the family could afford to stock up on extras when shopping for groceries, but now they can afford only the essentials – even though they are looking for good deals.
“We are just struggling to get enough of what we really need,” he said. “We cut a lot of meat … Instead of buying steaks, you buy pork chops.”
Arseno said that although he had seen a jump in prices at the start of the pandemic, much had worsened in the last six months.
“We’re running out of things,” he said.
Survival with oats, eggs and tuna
Johnny Barlow, a resident of the rural island of Prince Edward, knows this reality all too well.
“In the last few months, when the price of everything is rising, nothing remains. By the first week of the month, I’m out of money,” he said.
Barlow is currently counting on income support because he has a brain tumor that affects his thinking and makes it difficult to work.
As the financial support he receives is not enough to cover the rising costs, he said he needs to start limiting his diet.
PEI resident Johnny Barlow says he lives on a fixed income because prices jump, meaning he eats less to cover other needs. He is counting on income support due to a health problem and will have to pay for car repairs to return to work. (Submitted by Johnny Barlow)
Recently, Barlow said he survived on oatmeal, hard-boiled eggs and tuna.
“I try to stay healthy as cheaply as possible,” he said.
Barlow joked that “this is great for weight loss” and said he was trying to keep a positive outlook.
He also had to cut back on the supplements he bought to help treat the symptoms caused by the tumor.
Barlow, who lives 20 minutes from Charlottetown, said he hopes to return to work soon, selling home heating and cooling systems. But to do so, he has to pay to repair his car, the only means of transportation available where he lives.
“You have to spend money to make money,” he said.
Costs continue to rise, but wages remain the same
Even families with higher disposable incomes say they are suffering.
Christine Taylor, who lives in southern Ontario, said she found it difficult to pay all her family’s bills and worried about those less fortunate.
“This direction is not economically sustainable. It will break people – not only financially, but also emotionally and mentally, “she said.
Taylor, who works in the fuel and energy industries, said she and her husband, who works in home and mobile electronics, have a combined annual income of about $ 85,000. Still, it’s not enough to cover all the costs of owning a home and raising two teenagers.
Christine Taylor, on the right, shown with her husband, says that while her middle-income family connects the two ends by removing extras, she worries about those on fixed incomes who struggled before spending began to rise. (Submitted by Christine Taylor)
“We’ll just do it,” she said. “And the costs continue to rise, and our salaries remain the same.”
Taylor said they have postponed the payment of some bills to cover the cost of repairing vehicles.
She has also started looking for bargains in the grocery store and planning more dishes that will make leftovers.
Additional costs – such as an annual family trip to Thunder Bay, northwestern Ontario, or horseback riding lessons – are some of the cuts they had to make.
WATCH Food banks in Canada are preparing for the summer of famine with rising prices:
Food banks are preparing for the summer of famine
Food banks across the country are preparing for a hungry summer as rising inflation forces more Canadians to rely on charity.
“We feel like a middle-class family [the] they struggle and can’t afford to do simple things on the sidelines, “she said.
Taylor said that while they tighten their belts, she worries about those with a fixed income who don’t have extras to reduce.
“My heart breaks for them,” she said.
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