Canadians are worried about the rising cost of food.
A new survey has found that most Canadians believe food prices are becoming less affordable — with the cost of vegetables identified as one of people’s main worries. An Angus Reid poll found that 87% of respondents agree that food prices are increasing faster than their household income.
The inflation rate for October, according to the most recent data available, was 1.9%, while food prices rose 3.7% in the month compared to a year earlier. The price of fresh fruit and vegetables was more than 7% higher than a year earlier in October.
A slight majority of people (53%) said they intend to change their habits to save money. The most common ideas were eating out less often at restaurants and looking for discounts and coupons on grocery purchases.
The survey gathered responses from 1,509 people across the country in early December and found that vegetable prices were the top-ranked concern, listed by 69% of respondents, followed by fruits at 60% and meat at 54%.