Grey Bruce Public Health has released a new report on local food insecurity.
The report, titled “The Cost of Eating Well & The Urgent Issue of Food Insecurity,” was put together using local food cost data collected by Public Health this year.
Public Health Manager Jason Weppler says the increase in cost this year may not seem massive, but overall income levels are not keeping up with constantly rising costs for individuals and families.
"Over last year we're up about 1 per cent, which in itself isn't very alarming, but the year-over-year increases continue to add up and we know that about 1 in 5 of our local families are considered to be food insecure," Weppler stated.
Weppler says according to the report, lower income families are most adversely affected. The report states that a family of four on Ontario Works would have to spend nearly half of its monthly income (about 43 per cent) on food to meet Canada’s Food Guide recommendations.
The reality is, as Weppler states, wages and income are not keeping up with rising costs for food and other expenses, especially for those earning less.
"If we look at the cost of food and housing and compare that with the income of minimum wage earners, or someone on Ontario Works on Ontario Disability Support Program, or a variety of other scenarios, the income isn't meeting the needs to meet those costs for food, housing and other expenses," said Weppler.
When the term food insecurity is used, Weppler notes that it doesn't necessarily refer to hunger or malnourishment. It basically means that an individual or family can't afford to meet Canada’s Food Guide recommendations to ensure healthy diets and purchase "staple" food items.
For the report, Public Health dietitians collected data on the lowest costs of 61 food items in 12 grocery stores across Grey-Bruce. The items on the survey are based on Canada’s Food Guide (vegetables, fruit, whole grain foods, and protein foods) and reflect eating and purchasing patterns of many Canadians.
The survey assumes that people have the knowledge, equipment, and skills to prepare food mostly from scratch. Prepared convenience foods or non-food items, such as toiletries, were not included.
"It really boils down to people not being able to afford the food their household needs. So it's not really about being hungry or malnourished, it's really about not having the income required to buy those basic purchases," Weppler pointed out.
Weppler also says food insecurity can lead to lasting health impacts, for children right up to our elderly population. Those can be both physical and mental impacts.
"Adverse childhood experiences, which are detrimental as children grow and can lead to depression and poor mental health. That can go right up to adults and into our senior ages, where we're seeing an increase in chronic diseases, Type-2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, that can all result from a poor or inadequate diet throughout the lifespan," added Weppler.
Again, Weppler says the issue isn't so much the rising cost of the food, but the lack of increases in wages and income for families and individuals across the board that is enhancing this problem.
"Until families and individuals have the incomes they need to purchase the foods they require for good health and the shelter and all the other needs they have for good health, we're always gonna come up short. So it isn't really about dealing with the immediate need of hunger, it's about those income supports required for long-term health," Weppler concluded.
The report determined the cost of groceries for a family of four in Grey-Bruce in 2024 was $289 a week or $1,250 a month, representing a 1 per cent increase from 2023. A single adult, meanwhile, must spend about $434 a month on food to meet Canada’s Food Guide recommendations, which is also a 1 per cent increase from 2023.
The report also highlights the serious and lasting impacts of food insecurity and includes steps all levels of government and community partners can take to address the issue.
A full breakdown of the report can be seen here: https://www.publichealthgreybruce.on.ca/Your-Health/Eating-Well/Food-Affordability-and-Food-Insecurity