Some B.C. residents spend 40 per cent of income on food: report

A new report from Quest Outreach Society, which runs five non-profit grocery stores in Metro Vancouver, finds many British Columbians are spending an outsized portion of their income on food.

The non-profit analyzed data from the receipts of its more than 10,000 clients at its stores, and received survey responses from about 800 clients and more than 400 partner institutions, to study customers' food security.

It found households living on the poverty line who responded to the survey need to spend on average 40 per cent of their income on food.

To manage, food security non-profits say British Columbians are turning to food banks in record numbers as donations drop. Despite inflation slowing, many residents — and the institutions that support them — are feeling the crunch of food affordability.

"There's just not enough left over at the end of the week or the end of the month," said Theodora Lamb, executive director of Quest Outreach Society.

Big jump in food prices

High inflation in recent years saw the cost of food rise sharply. Statistics Canada's consumer price index data shows food prices jumped more than 21 per cent in the province between July 2020 and July 2024. 

The rate at which food prices rise has slowed down. According to the provincial government's latest consumer price index, the cost of food in July was about 2.8 per cent higher than in July 2023.

But Dan Huang-Taylor, executive director of Food Banks B.C., said it will take time for household incomes to catch up to the inflated cost of food.

"We're seeing record-breaking demand for services," Huang-Taylor said. "These are tough times for many British Columbians."

He says at the organization's 107 member food banks saw more than 100,000 unique visitors over the span of one month earlier this year, and demand for food banks this year is 15 per cent higher than in 2023.

That's on top of steep rises in demand in previous years. In 2022, Food Banks Canada found in B.C., demand for food banks in the province increased by 25 per cent year-over-year, faster than the national average of 15 per cent. In May, Food Banks Canada leadership said food bank use had jumped 50 per cent across the country since 2021.

Income not keeping up: survey

Huang-Taylor attributed the skyrocketing demand, in part, due to wages not keeping up with the jump in prices. 

"If people have more money in their pockets, then they're going to be able to cover those essential costs," Huang-Taylor said.

Back at Quest Non-Profit Grocery Markets, according to the survey, most clients make less than $34,000 per year and more than half make below $25,000 per year. 

Lamb is calling on the provincial government to come up with a set of policies and a budget specifically dedicated to improving food security in the province.

Sheila Malcomson, B.C.'s minister of social development and poverty reduction, said while her government is committed to spending on food affordability, it's up to the finance minister to bake food affordability into the budget. 

She added efforts to boost social assistance and incomes across the province have not been enough to meet the rising cost of food.

"People are experiencing really high, high grocery prices all over the world," she said. "We can't control the cost of groceries in B.C., but we can put more money in people's pockets and we can also support the really amazing food bank organizations."