Buy Bulk, Canadian Home Economist Says As Food Prices Rise

May 12, 2008
The Canadian Press

The spectre of rising world food prices could force Canadians used to buying whatever foods strike their fancy whenever they want to change their habits — and follow the spending example set by their parents and grandparents.

Home economist Margaret Howard, who raised four children in the 1960s, remembers well the budget-conscious shopping and cooking she did while her husband, John, was studying to be a chartered accountant and she wasn't working outside the home.

"We were always on the lookout for specials and pinching pennies, but we never economized on nutrition," says the 78-year-old cookbook author and nutritionist who lives in Leith, Ont.

With higher prices looming, "people will have to cut back and make more meals at home" instead of buying take-out food or eating out frequently, Howard says.

"This will be better for family life as well," she says. "There is nothing wrong with turning your backyard into a small vegetable garden" or joining a community garden project if you live in an apartment, she adds.

She also recommends buying in bulk and shopping at farmers' markets and roadside stands. As prices for bread and baked goods continue to rise, she suggests buying a bread machine or dusting off the one that's gone unused.

"I make my own bread and use my bread machine about twice a week," Howard says.

Because pork prices "are the best of all meat products right now, it's a good time to buy or stock up for the freezer." It is wonderful on the barbecue, she says.

"Less expensive cuts of other meats that can be marinated as well as meat alternatives can stretch the budget," she notes.

CANADA CUSHIONED FROM EXTREME FOOD CRISIS

Mel Fruitman, vice-president of the Ottawa-based Consumers' Association of Canada, says he doesn't believe Canada will experience a food crisis like what is happening in the developing world. For one thing, Canadians spend a much lower percentage of their household income on food than those in Third World countries, so increases do not have as hard an impact.

'We as Canadians … have become spoiled as we've expected to have anything we want to eat anytime of year.'—Mel Fruitman, Consumers' Association of Canada

"Prices will probably go up because of world prices, but we have the flexibility to cut down on much of the processed food and to eat local as much as we can," says Fruitman.

But food-buying habits might have to change. As the price of fuel increases the cost of importing foods, shoppers may have to reconsider whether they want those expensive imported California-grown strawberries in March, for instance, he says.

"We as Canadians have enjoyed a pretty prosperous lifestyle and have become spoiled as we've expected to have anything we want to eat anytime of year," says Fruitman.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/05/12/food-canada.html