As prices soar, foodbanks brace for higher demand into 2023
The surge in food prices is expected to continue into the New Year, according to a new report.
Canada’s Food Price Report indicates Canadians will be spending five to seven per cent more in groceries in 2023.
For a family of four, that equals to $16,288 per year, a $1,065 increase from 2022.
Simon Somogyi is a Guelph University professor who worked on the study.
“One of the highest periods of food price inflation in the last 40 years, so it’s very tough for Canadian families,” he said.
Somogyi said general inflation, the war in Ukraine, drought in the United States and a low Canadian dollar contributed to rising prices.
For food banks that have seen an increase in visitors, the news is concerning.
A report released by Feed Ontario last month found food bank usage is at an all-time high and there’s been a 64 per cent increase in first-time users in Ontario.
Dan Xilon, executive director of the Sudbury Food Bank, said he’s not surprised.
“There’s so many things out there like wars and famine and also shortages, drought. It’s not really a surprise that we’re going to have the challenges through 2023,” said Xilon.
“The question is, as the food bank, how are we going to handle those challenges?”
He said milk is already set to rise next year and jam is more expensive, leading to the food bank stopping carrying it for now.
Xilon said an increase in demand for food is unavoidable.
“In this food report, they’re saying food costs (are) going up seven, eight, 12 per cent,” he said.
“I don’t know anyone who’s getting those kind of raises, especially into 2023.”
Somogyi expects grocery prices will be high at the start of 2023, but then things will change.
“We’ll see food prices spike at the start of the year and then, from the middle of the year onwards, they’ll drop,” he said.
“So in 12 months from now, we’ll see lower prices into 2024.”
To curb the costs, Somogyi recommended shopping where there are deals, choosing frozen produce over fresh when possible and buying in bulk.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.