Food insecurity expected to intensify amid rising food prices in 2022: Canada's Food Price Report
Food insecurity is expected to intensify as the price of food will continue to increase in the coming year, according to Canada's Food Price Report.
Canada's Food Price Report for 2022, which was released on Thursday by Dalhousie University and the University of Guelph, estimates overall food prices are going to increase up to seven per cent.
A family of four, the report estimated, will spend around $14,767 on food in 2022. This is an increase of more than $900 compared to 2021.
The rising food prices will hit some Canadians harder than others.
"Disproportionately higher food prices will have a more severe impact on women, Indigenous populations, people of colour and other vulnerable populations," the report reads.
The report said inflation hit an 18-year-high in 2021, driven by high oil costs, high housing costs and rising food prices. It pointed out that for the most part, wages and salaries have not kept pace with the increase in prices.
The report said because of the rising food prices and inflation rates, food insecurity is expected to become a growing issue in 2022.
"There will likely be more demand for and reliance on food programs or food banks if incomes do not rise to meet food expenditures and other basic needs giving Canadians an estimate of food prices they can expect in the coming year," the report reads.
"Food programs may face increased demand along with higher costs for food, and food retailers may see increased rates of theft."
SUPPLY CHAIN AND CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS
From wildfires in British Columbia to drought conditions in the Prairies, the report said climate change-related adverse weather effects have had an impact on food prices and supply.
"Smaller harvests and poor crop yields will continue to raise the price of bakery items," the report reads.
"While water scarcity and heat have forced farmers to reduce herd sizes causing increases in meat prices."
Dairy and restaurant menu prices are expected to see the largest increase in the coming year, between six and eight per cent.
Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, and Saskatchewan are expected to see higher than average food inflation rates in the coming year.
The report said Manitoba can expect below average food price increases.
"Despite the Canadian food supply chain’s resiliency and adaptability to the challenges posed by the virus, it remains unclear when the COVID-19 pandemic will end and what permanent changes to the Canadian food industry it will leave behind," the report reads.
You can read the full report here:
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.