Nick Saul: Low-income families are hit hardest by rising food prices

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It has been a record year. The worst floods and fires in decades, new variants of COVID and now a seven percent increase in food prices, the highest on record. Ever.

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Canada’s recently released 2022 Food Price Report reveals that a family of four will need to spend nearly $ 1,000 more to buy the same foods next year.

For some Canadians, this could be a drop in the bucket. But, as with any increase in costs that is not accompanied by wage increases or a stronger social safety net, low-income families will be hit the hardest.

Along with the report comes well-intentioned but misguided advice. It ranges from buying imperfect-looking vegetables to education on cooking, shopping, and budgeting.

But the point is, people living on low incomes already know better than anyone how to skimp and save. They have been doing it for years.

The real reason 4.4 million Canadians experience food insecurity is not a lack of food or a need for food literacy. The problems are income inequality and inequity. Indigenous, black and racialized people experience much higher rates of food insecurity than non-racialized people.

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And poverty persists throughout people’s lives, from working-age adults struggling with a precarious job to older people living on a fixed income. Combine these existing inequalities with recent extreme weather, food supply chain problems, and pandemic labor market disruptions, and you have the perfect storm. A rich country where millions of citizens cannot meet their basic needs.

On the ground, this means that First Nations communities in British Columbia were doubly affected during the recent floods. Existing food insecurity problems were compounded by the disaster and slow government support. When we spoke with indigenous leaders in the affected areas, they spoke of communities coming together to support each other. This is encouraging, and not at all surprising, but given the scale of the problem, it is not enough.

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Meanwhile, on the East Coast, recent rent increases combined with job losses from the pandemic have increased demand for our partners’ food programs. Pantry staples, from cabbage to fruit, are becoming overkill for many people. Community emergency meals, take out food, and grocery bags are only a temporary solution.

During the pandemic, low-paid essential work made headlines. Food insecurity was highlighted in the 2020 Throne Address, but then it was completely reduced in 2021. Now is the time to ask ourselves: what do we really want to do about these problems?

This is when progressive policies matter. It begins by making sure there is a stable income floor that no Canadian can fall from. This means, at the very least, having enough money to buy fresh, nutritious and culturally appropriate food while covering rent and bills.

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We already have a set of mechanisms in place to put money in people’s pockets. Let’s continue to improve programs like Canada’s Child Allowance and the Guaranteed Income Supplement for Seniors. In addition, we desperately need a refundable and adequate tax credit for single adults of working age, a segment of the population that is experiencing the highest levels of poverty in the country. Employment insurance reforms and a tax benefit for people with disabilities are also steps in the right direction.

Each of these initiatives must incorporate a lens of racial equity to address systemic racism at all levels of our governmental and socioeconomic systems.

As we have witnessed first-hand for the past two years, during times of crisis, change, even difficult social change, can happen quickly when people come together and rediscover the power of community and mutual help.

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We must turn those feelings of connection into political action based on dignity and social and economic justice. It’s the smartest thing to do, as societies that prioritize equity perform better on all measures, from productivity to health, and are better able to weather crises in the system.

So let’s aim to break poverty reduction records in 2022 to ensure that next year’s food prices don’t cost us as much.

Nick Saul is the Executive Director of Community Food Centers Canada and the Chancellor of Victoria University at the University of Toronto.

Letters to the editor should be sent to [email protected]. The editor of the editorial pages is Hardip Johal, who can be contacted at [email protected] .