20 Percent of Canadians Skipping Meals to Lower Food Costs, Survey Says

Buying groceries is a life necessity that keeps getting more expensive. In a Canada-wide survey released today, many Canadians say they’re using coupons or watching sales on certain items to help deal with rising food costs. 20 percent of respondents also said they were either reducing meal sizes or skipping meals in order to lower grocery bills.

The Canadian Hub for Applied and Social Research at the University of Saskatchewan conducted the survey from Sept. 6 to Oct. 17 and asked 1,001 people how they were dealing with increasing food costs.

Canada’s inflation rate skyrocketed earlier this year, but Statistics Canada reported that the rate had dropped to 6.9 percent in September. Despite the decrease, the cost of groceries increased by 11.4 percent compared to last year. This price increased at the fastest rate since August 1981.

The survey also reported that 30 percent of respondents purchased less healthy food because it was cheaper while 5 percent had stolen food because they could not afford it.

Food Banks Canada reported that there were approximately 1.5 million visits to food banks in March, marking a 15 percent increase from 2021 and a 35 percent increase from 2019. The majority of the visits came in the Prairie provinces. The survey said people aged 18 to 34 were more likely to have used a food bank or community fridge.

The survey asked how the respondents would view governmental strategies to cope with rising food costs. 79 percent of respondents agreed that their respective provinces should raise the minimum wage.

Most disagreed, however, on the increase or addition of new taxes. People in Quebec largely favoured higher wages, a tax on sugar and an increase in carbon emission penalties. Those from the Prairies agreed with the wage increase ideas but opposed the taxes.

The researchers said the survey had a 3.1 percent margin of error.