The average family of four in Chatham-Kent needs to spend an average of $186.88 a week to buy healthy food.
The figure was determined by Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit by purchasing 67 items at a variety of different grocery stores throughout the community.
Public Health Dietician Lyndsay Davidson says they use this information to advocate for change in public policy to increase the living wage and social assistance.
"The reality is for someone living on a low income or on social assistance they really don't have enough money to be able to survive," she says.
The cost of the nutritious food basket rose 1.5% over last year and 17% in the last five years. Davidson says there is a correlation between access to healthy food and health outcomes.
"We know that if someone is living in a food insecure household that those individuals whether it's families, especially those with children, are going to be at a higher risk for poor health outcomes," she says.
