Americans aren’t the only ones suffering from higher inflation sending the cost of goods upward. Canada’s official inflation rate in November was reported by Statistics Canada at 2.2%.
But there’s more to the story. Grocery prices continue to climb at more than double the official rate. That has many people in Canada scrambling, and more and more of them heading to food banks just to make do.
For many it’s unnerving, especially as they shop for Christmas gifts and food for the holiday as they prepare to gather with family and friends. They are finding it more difficult to stretch that dollar.
"It’s the prices that we’re interacting with every day that show prices have increased way more than our wages and so you have that sticker shock value when you’re at the grocery store, when you get your cell phone bill every month," said Kaylie Tiessen, the chief economist with independent think tank Shield Institute.
The items that have shocked people the most are those they most commonly buy including beef up 18%, coffee 28% and also trending higher is fresh fruit, vegetables and confectionary items.
Professor Mike von Massow is an agriculture economist at the University of Guelph. He said cattle herds in Canada and the U.S. are smaller mainly because of dry weather, leading to less feed and less pasture and it will take time to regrow those herds.
"We see these high prices and people are changing the kinds of beef they eat. We’re seeing a lot more ground beef getting eaten, fewer steaks," he said. "And so the fact that beef is popular keeps the price high. We also still have export customers who are keen to pay for beef. So it’s not like it’s just Canadian domestic demand that’s impacting prices."
Economists like Tiessen say over the past four years food prices have jumped by about 30% but wages have not kept pace.
The CPI or Consumer Price Index is a key economic indicator of changes in the cost of living. It is used by Canada’s central bank to help determine the bank rate.
"As a result of CPI being higher than our target in the past, and Canadians are still feeling that," said Caroline Rogers, the Bank of Canada’s senior deputy governor. "The other thing they’re feeling is where prices are still under pressure is food and shelter, things that you really can’t avoid."
Rents continue to climb, more slowly than a year ago but still enough that it’s having a major impact. Combined, those factors are sending more Canadians to food banks, especially in Ontario where there is now a record high demand. The latest hunger reports suggests more than one million people across Ontario now rely on food banks. Some of them employed, but still needing help to make ends meet.
"It’s people from all walks of life, from various different forms of income, various different housing situations, very different family situations, " said Ryan Noble, with Toronto’s North York Harvest Food Bank. "But the common denominator, unfortunately, is that we are all suffering under a crisis of affordability and lack of affordability and as a result, more and more people aren’t able to get by and need to turn to charities like North York Harvest Food Bank, and other food banks across the province to meet their basic needs."
That will have a more far reaching impact, according to Carolyne Stewart, the CEO of Feed Ontario.
"And so when there’s no where left to turn, they turn to food banks," she said. "But if we can’t provide the level of support that they need, then we’re gonna see some of the province’s most pressing issues, get worse."
Stewart said the need is fast outpacing the available resources. She added that if the food banks can’t keep up, the only option for people is to skip meals or go without.
