2024-10-16 22:17:00
Eating well is becoming more and more expensive in Montreal. The annual bill for basic nutritious groceries has jumped by $396 per person in less than a year, an increase of 3%. A lesser increase than in previous years, but which still weighs heavily in the balance.
Based on grocery prices for July 2024, the Montreal organization Alima, a perinatal social nutrition center, estimates that a “typical family” of four people — two adults and two children — must pay approximately $14,682 per year for eat properly and healthily. This represents a food budget of $1,223 per month, or $10.06 per day per person.
Last fall, the monthly budget to feed a “typical family” was more like $1,191 per month, or $9.78 per person per day. This is an increase of 3% in 10 months.
“This increase seems to be slowing down, but it is the accumulation of recent years that is worrying,” argues the organization’s general director, Julie Paquette. She recalls that in less than three years, the cost of the Nutritious and Economical Shopping Basket (PPNE), which makes it possible to estimate the cost of a basic balanced grocery store, rose 28%. As of October 2021, it costs $940.57 per month, or $3,235 less per year.
“We had low-income families who were already vulnerable and who are even more so today. They are faced with increasingly difficult choices once in front of the grocery shelves,” worries M.me Paquette.
For families who depend on government assistance, the cost of the basic grocery basket easily takes up more than 40% of their total annual income, she points out. “This means that many families are not even able to spend that much money on a healthy and balanced diet. They will therefore limit the quality of the foods consumed and their quantity,” she indicates.
The base
Note that the Alima team’s grocery basket represents the strict food base that can cover the nutritional needs of a family.
Based on nutritional recommendations, the team took into consideration 68 foods divided into 11 categories, selected based on their nutritional value, their affordability and the consumption habits of the Quebec population. These include fruits and vegetables, plant and animal proteins, cereal products, dairy products, sugars, fats and even starchy foods.
The PPNE therefore does not make room for any deviation such as coffee, tea or a cereal bar. Ready-to-eat foods and ultra-processed meals are also excluded from the calculation. We therefore assume that snacks and meals are all cooked at home. However, not all families have the culinary skills or the time necessary to cook balanced and healthy meals every day.
The young families most affected
The Alima team, whose initial mission is to help pregnant women in vulnerable situations, has also noted a significant increase in the price of food for children aged 0 to 1 year. The price of baby cereals has increased by 15% in 10 months, while that of commercial infant formula has jumped by 45%. Parents of young infants are therefore even more heavily affected by rising grocery prices.
“Breastfeeding costs are estimated to be about four times lower than commercial infant formula, meaning a monthly savings of $111. However, all families should be able to afford the purchase of commercial infant formula when breastfeeding is not an option or is not chosen,” the organization’s report said.
For Mme Paquette, the situation is “really worrying”. “We see the concrete impact every day on the ground. In 2021, just under 400 pregnant women were knocking on our doors for help. This year, we are approaching 1000. […] Among them, 75 to 80% are in a situation of moderate or severe food insecurity,” she worries.
Alima, formerly known as the Montreal Dietetic Dispensary, has been calculating the evolution of the price of the Nutritious and Economical Shopping Basket (PPNE) for over 70 years.
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