Canadians Spending Less on Food Despite Higher Prices, Report Finds

Canadians are spending less of their money on food compared to a year ago despite food inflation remaining high, according to a new report by Dalhousie University. “Canadians are either wasting less or finding alternative ways to source food outside conventional channels like grocery stores, such as dollar stores and non-traditional grocery discounters,” said Sylvain Charlebois, senior director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab and a professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University. “Per capita food expenditures in our country have never been as low as they are now.” While Canadians spent an average of $248 a month per person on food retail sales in January 2024, they spent an average of $258 in January 2023 and $282 in February 2017. According to Canada’s Food Price Report 2024, the average monthly expenditure for a healthy diet should be $339 per person....