Calgary families see roughly $220 added to monthly grocery bill; CBC launches new focus on food cost

About six months ago, grocery prices took off and now a typical family of four can expect to be paying $220 more each month for healthy food compared to last year. 

That's according to Vibrant Communities Calgary, which calculates costs in the city as part of its annual living wage report.

It released that report Monday. Researchers found prices in many areas increased with inflation, but food prices increased faster. Now a family with two adults and two kids can expect to spend nearly $1,200 a month to ensure a full fridge and kitchen cupboards.

"It's surprising. We found the food category in particular jumped up," said Lee Stevens, a researcher with Vibrant Communities Calgary.

She used a standard list of food items set by Alberta Health Services to make the calculations, what a typical family of four would eat to stay healthy. Adding in other expenses, total household costs for a modest standard of living came out at $81,300 annually for 2021.

Vibrant Communities executive director Meaghon Reid says several factors are driving up food prices. First, there's the inflation and supply chain issues that have impacted many different parts of the economy.

Then locally, the hot and dry summer caused crop loss. That decreased the supply of cereals and pulses, both to sell directly to consumers and to feed livestock. 

"That definitely drives the cost of food up," Reid said. "Meat in Alberta has gone up exponentially and a lot of consumers are now having to make trade-offs in terms of how much meat they consume in a week."

"The other thing to note," she said, "is that those factors aren't one-time factors. Climate change, supply chains, changes in the workforce as well, they are not likely to be a one-time occurrence. And so the price of food is going to keep increasing."

Because of the increase, CBC Calgary has decided to run a special focus on the high cost of food, what it means for Calgary residents and what can be done about it.

We've been inviting people to sign up for our text-messaging app, and already many Calgary residents have used it to describe what they're seeing.

Packages of food are shrinking — holding four chicken breasts instead of five, for example — even as prices stay the same. And the same bag of food that used to cost $40 at the self-checkout, might be $60 now. 

The high prices seem to be especially hard for people with specific diets, such as those allergic to gluten.

Calgary parent Crystal Bassett said it can take a emotional toll when children start to notice and ask questions about why a family can no longer afford certain items. She and other shoppers told CBC they are cutting back on fresh fruit, buying ground instead of whole chicken, and buying discount meat close to the best-before date.