Vancouver Island facing highest monthly cost for nutritious food in B.C.
Everyone is experiencing sticker shock at the grocery store these days, and a new report is putting a dollar figure on how much it’s costing families, per month, to eat healthy.
A new report from the BC Centre for Disease Control outlined how much it costs a family of four to maintain a healthy, balanced diet per month in the province.
Data from May 2022 showed it cost the average B.C. family $1,263 a month.
On Vancouver Island, we’re paying more, $1,366 per month.
Cindy Taylor does all the grocery shopping for her family of four on Vancouver Island and says every trip to the store brings the same reaction.
"Shocked. And it’s kind of like I do the double take, like is that the price for this item?" said Taylor.
Buying healthy for her family has become a challenge.
"It’s a constant battle in my mind at the grocery store. Do I save money or do I buy healthy?" said Taylor.
Economists blame shipping and transportation costs for the grocery price increases.
"The foods that are represented are fruits and vegetables, whole grains, proteins and some unsaturated fats," said Charmaine Enns, Vancouver Island medical health officer.
Enns says the high prices are hitting the island’s most vulnerable the hardest.
"The single parent families, households where someone is on disability, lower income households," she said.
The higher costs are leaving them to make some tough decisions that ultimately will effect their overall health.
"On where their money goes, and often it’s not to nutritious food," said Enns.
Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agra-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, says the question he gets the most is when will food prices come down.
"It’s something we feared last year and it’s happening," he said. "It is not going to happen and so there is a new normal out there."
He recommends shopping around, purchasing produce that is in season or searching out cheaper store brands that could save you a few dollars on your final bill.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What's a Barnacle? It's yellow, sticks and screams if you try to pry it off your car
Barnacles, bright yellow devices used to make sure parking scofflaws pay their tickets, could soon be making their way to cities across Canada.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
A Nigerian chess champion plays the royal game for 60 hours - a new global chess record
A Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate played chess nonstop for 60 hours in New York City's Times Square to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.