According to Laurie O’Connor, when grocery store costs climb beyond their means, more people in Saskatoon are finding it difficult to buy food for themselves and their family.
The executive director of the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Center, O’Connor, remarked, “We are absolutely seeing an uptick and have been watching that since January.”
A poll conducted throughout Canada and released on Monday found that the majority of participants use coupons or shop specials to offset rising food prices.
Additionally, nearly 20% of people cut back on meal portions or skipped meals entirely to save money.
From September 6 to October 17, the Canadian Hub for Applied and Social Research at the University of Saskatchewan conducted its survey. It questioned 1,001 respondents about coping mechanisms for rising food prices.
The consumer price index report from Statistics Canada stated that while the nation’s annual inflation rate decreased marginally to 6. In September, the price of food increased by 9%.
With prices up 11.4% from a year ago, grocery prices rose at the quickest rate since August 1981.
The majority of poll participants claimed they had been reducing their coupon usage in order to adjust to the rising expenses. Nearly 59% of respondents said they were reducing household food waste as well.
Fifty-four per cent also made meal plans to ensure they had adequate funds for food.
Though less frequent, troubling tactics were still too widespread, according to Jessica McCutcheon, associate director of the research hub.
A little over 30% of respondents claimed that they were consuming less nutritious food because it was less expensive. Nearly five per cent had stolen food out of necessity, and about five per cent had used a food bank or community fridge.
According to a recent survey by Food Banks Canada, there were about 1.
5 million people visited food banks in March, which was a 15% increase from the same month a year prior and a 35% increase from March 2019—the month before the COVID-19 pandemic—visits.
According to the survey, residents of the Prairie provinces were far more likely to have employed emergency food measures.
The use of food banks in Alberta and Saskatchewan is among the greatest in all of Canada, according to McCutcheon.
According to O’Connor, Saskatoon has some of the highest food bank usage rates the team has ever observed. She added that there has been a worrying rise in the arrival of elderly and students.
According to the survey, young adults (18 to 34) were more likely to have utilised a food bank or communal refrigerator. Additionally, individuals were less likely to believe they could afford to consume a healthy diet. People aged 35 to 54 were more inclined to use coupons or buy on sale.
The biggest deviation from the Prairies was seen in Quebec, where 95% of respondents claimed they could afford to consume a balanced diet.
It might be as a result of Quebec’s policies just having a stronger social security net, McCutcheon suggested.
Government attempts to address food insecurity were questioned in the survey. Most supported increased funds to community gardens, food banks and implementing a universal healthy school food program.
Additionally, there was support for government assistance for farmers and producers as well as subsidies for groceries for low-income households.
Just over 79% of respondents agreed that their provinces should raise the minimum wage. However, there was hostility to any plans that involved raising or introducing new taxes.
People in Quebec said they were supportive of an increase to minimum wage, a tax on sugar and an increase in carbon emission penalties.
People in the Prairies had a far higher likelihood of being against those taxes.
According to O’Connor, addressing the underlying causes of poverty is necessary in order to address food insecurity. The Saskatoon food bank also offers initiatives related to tax preparation, job search techniques, and education.
She continued, saying that because wages and aid aren’t covering everyone’s requirements, finding job isn’t the sole option anymore.
“(A) number of folks who are working, maybe a minimum wage job or a couple of minimum wage jobs, are being forced to turn to food banks now,” she said.
According to researchers, the survey had a nationwide 3.1% margin of error, plus or minus, 19 times out of 20.
According to a report, nearly 20% of Canadians skip meals due to increased food prices.
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