Who should you blame for soaring grocery prices?
Too many Canadians are finding it more and more difficult to put food on the table – but supermarkets aren’t the only culprits.
By Arwa Emhemed
For most of us, the ability to put food on the table and access everyday necessities is almost an afterthought. For many, however, this basic right is a constant daily struggle with limited resources and tough decisions. While accelerating food prices are certainly part of the problem — food prices under the consumer price index increased by 5.9 per cent last year, following already higher prices post-pandemic — the issue goes far beyond blaming the grocery store chains.
Necessities, such as food, are not guaranteed anymore and Canadians are suffering. Almost seven million people in Canada — including almost two million children — do not have consistent access to sufficient food.
Beyond these numbers, these are the stories of families from all over the country who are forced to make a difficult choice between paying rent and utilities and cutting down on groceries, leaving many hungry and malnourished. According to the Food Banks Canada 2023 report, food bank use has increased dramatically and is currently at an all-time high. In 2023, they recorded almost two million visits to food banks across the country in March alone.
While rising grocery prices are an affordability challenge for many Canadians, for marginalized communities it is a matter of survival. Because of complex historical disparities and systemic inequalities, marginalized communities face heightened obstacles in affording basic necessities. Statistics Canada reports that families with a racialized principal income earner experience greater levels of food insecurity (23%). This was especially true for Black Canadians in particular (38%).
Food insecurity is not exclusively caused by higher food prices. Households are being forced to negotiate this unlivable reality and make difficult decisions due to the rising expenses of other necessities such as housing, energy, and transportation. This is a multifaceted, interconnected dilemma where solving one issue necessitates solving all the others.
Another contributing factor is the lack of competition in the Canadian grocery sector, with market power concentrated in the hands of the country’s large supermarket chains. Canada’s five biggest food retailers control 80 per cent of the grocery industry in Canada, according to a recent report by the federal government’s Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. This has led many to call for the Competition Bureau to impose stronger regulations on mergers and acquisitions.
The issue of food prices will continue to escalate — the Food Price Report for 2024 projects that Canadians will be faced with a price increase of up to 4.5 per cent for meat, vegetables, and up to seven per cent for baked goods. This anticipated increase is attributed to the rising costs of inputs, transportation expenses, and the effects of climate change on agricultural activities.
The urgency of this situation underscores the need for an immediate government intervention that should be guided by a strategic and nuanced policy framework. The government needs to conduct a thorough assessment of the existing social safety net programs to identify the shortcomings and gaps in the current welfare delivery system and understand why it is falling short in providing proper support to those facing food insecurity.
Once the deficiencies have been identified, policymakers should prioritize implementing a targeted income support mechanism. This measure involves tailoring assistance to the specific needs of vulnerable populations, such as low-income families, unemployed individuals, and marginalized communities. Note that a one-size-fits-all approach may not effectively address the diverse and nuanced challenges contributing to food insecurity. By adopting a targeted intervention, the government can ensure that its resources are efficiently directed to those who need them the most.
Revisiting and recalibrating existing support mechanisms to expand social support coverage is also another possible policy solution to ensure a more accessible and equitable distribution of resources. Here, technology and data analytics have a big role to play in improving the identification of eligible recipients and enhancing the efficiency of aid distribution by making these policy measures more proactive rather than simply reactive. All design interventions should not only provide short-term relief, but also contribute to finding sustainable long-term solutions.
Access to adequate and nutritious food is a cornerstone of a healthy and thriving society, and it is crucial to acknowledge that no Canadian should have to make the painful choice between essential needs. Canadians should be entitled to dignified living standards, and this includes continued access to sufficient food. The fulfillment of basic needs, including housing, transportation, and other essential utilities, should not come at the expense of a person's ability to nourish themselves adequately.
Arwa holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from the American University of Beirut. Her final capstone project was dedicated to the development of an app referral system aimed at actively engaging community members in implementing an intervention to combat illegal migration from Lebanon. Alongside her academic pursuits, she gained practical experience in diverse fields, notably during her time at the i4policy Foundation, where she contributed to policy drafts and conducted research to assess policy-related initiatives. Arwa now seeks to leverage her experience and education to formulate policy recommendations to improve women's rights, particularly in Libya and the MENA region