The cost of milk in New Brunswick is going up Thursday by 6.5 cents per litre.
Matt MacKenzie, a parent of three who also owns a breakfast joint in Fredericton's Boyce Farmer’s Market, says it's dollars down the drain.
"Adding the dollar or two on to it is not the make-or-break by itself,” MacKenzie said. “It's everything going up at once that is literally going to force families to rethink how they eat."
The cost increase has Alex Boyd, the executive director of the Greener Village food bank in Fredericton, thinking hard on how many people are going to be able to eat at all.
He deals with about 2,600 to 3,000 litres of milk a month. He says it's another price jump that has been hard to swallow.
"It's a double whammy for Greener Village,” Boyd said. “Because that means our food costs are significantly higher than it was this time last year or the year before."
The price farmers get for their milk will increase by 2.5 per cent. This comes after an 8.4 per cent increase in February.
Dairy Farmers of New Brunswick says rising costs in farm operation essentials, like feed, fuel, and fertilizer, make it impossible to pay the bills without an increase in the price of milk.
"Nobody is going to be happy with it, that's a fact,” said Wietze Dykstra, Dairy Farmers of New Brunswick chair. “We are not happy with having to implement a price increase, however, we just do not have a choice at this point."
It's not only affecting the dairy business - but the businesses that rely on dairy.
"(It's) just putting more constraints on small businesses to be honest,” Mackenzie said.
“Just watching your profit slowly get smaller and smaller because, as a breakfast restaurant, people will only pay so much for breakfast, so with rising costs, you kind of just get to a point where you're going to be eating the cost."
A statement from The Canadian Dairy Commission says pricing under the School Milk Program will remain unchanged for the coming academic year.
Milk prices are normally adjusted in February. Mid-year price adjustments can be implemented under exceptional circumstances, which hasn't happened since 2018.
