‘It’s absolutely ridiculous’: Rising food costs are putting pressure on Cambridge families

By Genelle Levy, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cambridge Times

December 14, 2021

Cambridge resident Lisa McVey was already struggling to make ends meet as a single parent of two who made just over $50,000, but now with the rising cost of food, it’s become “absolutely ridiculous,” she says.

“It means we have to make choices like, do we have chicken this month or do we wait until we have more money to buy chicken?” says McVey.

A new Food Price Report from Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab says that the average family of four can expect to spend $14,767 a year on food and groceries in 2022. That’s a thousand dollars a year more on food compared to 2021.

The increased prices are due to climate change and food supply chain issues. Climate change causes more unpredictable weather, which can damage crops for farmers, leading to an increase in prices.

COVID-19 has also had a relevant impact on food prices, with the pandemic leading to increased safety measures, resulting in the closure of certain food manufacturing facilities. Closed borders have also impacted the way food has been imported, resulting in price surges, not to mention the increased cost of transportation and fuel.

Cambridge resident Lori Brady says that this could pose a problem, particularly for those with specific health needs or dietary restrictions.

“I have Type 1 diabetes and celiac disease, so instead of buying flour which might cost $3, I have to buy almond or coconut flour which is $13,” says Brady.

Brady, who is on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), only gets allotted a certain amount of money per month for food and rent. She says that if ODSP users go over their allotted rent supplement, which for Brady is $781, then they must make up the difference with money allotted for their food supplement.

For reference, Brady pays $1,060 per month for rent. She is often forced to turn to food banks for groceries, but getting fresh produce that meets the needs of her health conditions is often a struggle.

“People tend to donate cheap, easy food to food banks,” says Brady. “It’s the kind of food someone can survive on, but it’s not healthy overall. Because of my wheat allergy, things I can eat are personally hard to come by.”

Dianne McLeod, executive director of Cambridge Food Bank, says that they had felt the effects of rising food costs at the start of the pandemic.

“We saw this coming quite some time ago, when the pandemic started happening,” says McLeod. “We certainly knew everyone needed our emergency hamper assistance.”

Cambridge Food Bank launched several programs to better serve the community when it came to food insecurity. Most recently, the food bank has launched a mobile self-serve food market where residents can pay just $5 and pick up groceries, including fresh produce that is donated by local farmers in the region.

The food bank also offers a variety of meal prep workshops where all the food is provided to participants free of charge, as well as their emergency food hamper program, which has been expanded to 12 hampers.

McVey says a universal basic income would alleviate the challenges families are facing when it comes to rising food costs. She says that it would put everyone on equal terms regardless of the industry that they are working in.

“I feel like there are people who aren’t doing as good as me, and I’m still struggling,” says McVey. “Universal basic income would help the people who need it most, otherwise it’s going to be challenging for everyone.”

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STORY BEHIND THE STORY: When a report came out from Dalhousie University estimating that the average family of four would spend nearly $15,000 a year on food, reporter Genelle Levy decided to look into how this would affect Cambridge residents.