THUNDER BAY — Eating healthy is becoming more difficult for families in the city of Thunder Bay as food costs continue to soar.
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit’s annual Nutritious Food Basket Survey found that the cost of feeding a family of four in the district has increased by 10 per cent while an individual household can expect to pay nearly 20 per cent more compared to 2021.
“This year for a family of four, the Nutritious Food Basket is approximately $1,045.88. If we compare that to last year’s Nutritious Food Basket in May 2021, it was $949,” said Ivan Ho, public health nutritionist with the Thunder Bay District Health Unit. “For a family of four, it is approximately a 10 per cent increase in food prices.”
The survey also found the cost for an individual household has increased by nearly 20 per cent over last year.
“When we are looking at food price changes for an individual household, which may differ because obviously for a family of four you can buy things in larger quantities, so you do have savings there,” Ho said. “But for an Individual, this year a Nutritious Food Basket was $314.98, compared to last year’s cost of $264, so that is a larger increase of approximately 19 per cent.”
The annual Nutritious Food Basket survey includes pricing for 67 basic food items including bread, milk, fruits and vegetables, cheese, chicken, beef, and canned goods sourced from four grocery stores in the city of Thunder Bay and two stores from the surrounding district.
Ho said the survey does not determine why costs increase but he noted there are likely several factors contributing to high prices, including the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain issues, inflation, and the challenging political situation throughout the world.
With the cost of food increasing, more people are unable to afford high grocery bills. Ho said the Health Unit tracks this information because monitoring food affordability serves as an important indicator in a community’s overall health.
“That is a way to assess how our community is doing in terms of well-being and health, specifically relating to food and nutrition,” he said. “It is of particular importance because household food and security, that this food monitoring is intended to measure, is really linked to a lot of chronic diseases, low birth rates, reduced productivity and learning in children, as well as poor mental health.”
Food strategies that help make food more affordable, especially for those living in poverty, not only helps people on an individual basis, but the entire district.
“It is particularly important because we understand that by uplifting those suffering the most or living in the most vulnerable situations, we are bringing up the community as a whole,” Ho said.
