Majority of Canadians finding it hard to keep their cupboards stocked

A new study shows a majority of Canadians are finding it difficult to keep their cupboards stocked with food.

Richard Didora was shopping for groceries on Saturday. He said in the past few months he has had to change the way he shops for food.

“You know, usually if it was there I bought it, but now I’m looking at prices more than I used to cause the prices have just gone up on everything,” said Didora.

The Angus Reid Institute found 57 per cent of Canadians said it is difficult to feed their household right now. In 2019, when the same question was asked, only 36 per cent said it was an issue.

Didora said prices have gone up in almost every aisle.

“Whether it’s a canned item, whether it’s produce, whether it’s meat, everything seems to have just gone up more than just a little bit, noticeably,” Didora said.

Statistics Canada shows year over year inflation was 5.2 per cent in December for groceries, and 4.8 per cent overall, a 30 year high.

Another shopper, Robert, said he is noticing a drop in selection.

“I just noticed some of those shelves are pretty empty, and that’s almost standard everyday. So selection is less, and prices are up,” said Robert.

Miller’s Meats has been serving the Winnipeg community for more than 50 years.

Owner Shawn Miller said the cost of beef has gone up in recent months, and they have had to increase some of their prices to stay profitable.

He’s been seeing a shift in customers buying habits.

“As people’s wallets get thinner and prices of meat and other groceries increase, we’ve noticed that people are looking to get more of a sale item, we offer sale items every week,” said Miller.

The Angus Reid study found 39 per cent of Canadians said they are worse off now financially than they were last year. That is the largest group of people to say that in the 13 years of tracking done by Angus Reid.

Only 23 per cent of Canadians are optimistic that their financial standing will improve in the next year.

Didora said he falls in to that category.

“I’m cautiously optimistic let’s say.”