Ottawa-More than a fifth of Canadians will experience some form of food insecurity again this year due to inflation, adverse weather conditions, disruptions in global supply chains, increased input costs, and labour issues, says Farm Credit Canada.

While Canada’s wealth and reputation for quality food products remains unparalleled, ranking second among the top countries in terms of quality of life, food affordability has declined in recent years with surging prices of basic food commodities prompting households to make difficult choices, FCC said.

“Recent data from Statistics Canada estimated that in 2022, food insecurity affected 22.9 per cent or 8.7 million Canadians, marking the highest rate since the inception of food insecurity data in 2018. Since 2022, Canadians have experienced elevated levels of inflation in prices of food, housing, and other basic needs.

“Food inflation outpaced general inflation and income, resulting in a decline in food expenditures in real terms and consequently, an increase in food insecure households.”

The largest annual decline in real food spending on a per-capita basis since 1961 was recorded in 2022 followed by a further decline last year and another drop forecast for 2024, FCC said. That means food insecurity is anticipated to remain high among Canadians even though some moderation in food price inflation in expected.

The annual food inflation rate fell from a peak of 10.4 per cent in January of last year to just 2.3 per cent in April 2024 and is expected to fall below 2 per cent by year-end. “We have seen similar declines in food inflation across the globe, thanks largely to improving supplies of agricultural commodities and fewer disruptions on global supply chains.”

During the past decade, Canada’s position among the G7 has been the third lowest in terms of the ratio of food expenditure to total consumption expenditure, behind only the U.S. and the UK, while Japan had the highest ratio. This is not expected to change this year.

The lowest income group allocates more than 20 per cent of their disposable income towards food-related expenses, while the average and highest income households tend to spend around 10 and 5 per cent respectively.

FCC forecasts food prices and spending patterns to remain like last year although food inflation is expected to moderate. “The affordability of food and other essential life necessities will therefore continue to be a major concern for Canadians.”

In 2023, the Canadian food industry collectively contributed more than 140 million meals to support food insecure Canadians through charitable organizations such as Food Banks Canada and Second Harvest Canada. Going forward FCC will continue to collaborate with partners to identify opportunities and create meaningful results in communities across the country in the quest to curb food insecurity.

This news item prepared for National Newswatch