'They're not trying to gouge me': Trust, fairness and the high cost of food on P.E.I.
CBC
This story is from this week's episode of the new CBC podcast Good Question, P.E.I.
Listen here.
Good Question, P.E.I. is available on the CBC Listen app, or wherever you get your podcasts.
The high cost of food is no surprise to anyone who eats.
A cucumber that might have been 99 cents a couple years ago could be three times that now. If broccoli already leaves a bad taste in your mouth, wait till you see the price.
And eating out at a restaurant? You might have room in your belly for dessert, but what about in your wallet?
Brandon Howard Roy loves a deal as much as the next person, but there's only so much coupon-clipping a person can do.
"I'm not cheap. I'm a value-minded consumer," he explained.
"Like, seeing how prices have gotten a little crazy recently — I don't know, it's just been nagging at me."
So Howard Roy did what anyone does when they want answers. He turned to the CBC podcast Good Question, P.E.I.
"How does this food system work? And how are people sort of up the food chain from me, the home cook, fighting those price increases?" he asked podcast host Nicola MacLeod.
So MacLeod set out to speak with a farmer, a butcher, a restaurant chef and a small community grocer.
They all told her they do whatever they can to keep prices down. But they have to feed themselves, too, and they have to make at least a modest profit.
The farmer, Soleil Hutchinson of Soleil's Farm in South Melville, P.E.I., says costs for everything from fertilizer to packaging are up.