by Tova Sherman
According to Statistics Canada (April 2024), Nova Scotia has the highest per capita rate of food insecurity of any province in Canada, at 29%. As a Nova Scotian who is lucky enough to put three meals on the table every day, I feel very blessed. For an increasing number of us, three meals per day is simply not an affordable option.
As food prices have increased, food theft rates have risen in tandem. Ask your local grocer if shoplifting is up and they’ll likely tell you it is through the roof. But why is shoplifting up? Have Canadians lost their morals? Of course not. But according to Stats Canada, shoplifting went up in 2022 by 31% over previous year and up again in 2023 by an additional 18%. Those numbers are shocking, but this rise isn’t coming out of nowhere. And the truth is grocery stores themselves are contributing to inequality in various ways – ways that could be easily changed.
For example, I know many folks who live alone. They live in the same place for years, if not their whole lives (perhaps a family home or a rare rent-stable apartment), rarely can they afford a move. Living alone has many advantages and disadvantages but when it comes to food security issues, being solo is a lose, lose. Those purchasing food for themselves alone are often among the oldest and youngest consumers, and both of these groups are feeling the food budget pinch. In fact, 40% of Gen Z’s in Canada report they are borrowing money to pay for food.
Of particular concern to many solo shoppers in our big chain grocery stores is the trend toward offering the “buy 3 (or more!) get 1 free or reduced” deals. Sounds good if you can afford 3 of a specific product. If you are a solo shopper on a strict budget, it is simply not an option to “buy 3” and therefore the discount offered is beyond reach. For many the ability to store/keep larger amounts of food in a small kitchen is often prohibitive as well. Storage can be especially problematic when high quantity sales are on perishable items like meat and dairy products. (Which are among the most frequently stolen food items according to our friends at Stats Canada.)
So, what can you and I do about this? Well more than you may think. As an individual or group you can:
- Let your local grocery manager know why you feel “buy 3” style sales are unfair to our most marginalized citizens
- Email regional and national offices and share this article if you are unsure what to say
- Change your shopping habits. If you’ve tried step 1 and 2 to no effect, take your limited grocery budget someplace else.
The fact is we can all affect change by remembering, in the words of Christine Todd Whitman:
“Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference has never tried to fall asleep with a mosquito in the room.”
