Rising food costs force poor to make bad choices
CBC News
The poor are forced to make unhealthy food choices because prices of certain staples have been rising faster than inflation, according to a new study.
The basics for a low-income household’s dinner — baked goods, dairy and meat — have been outpacing the consumer price index, especially in the past few years, according to the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity, a Toronto-based group that receives Ontario government funding.
Fruit and vegetable prices, as well as fish, come in below inflation.
But corner stores often found in poorer areas don’t tend to stock as many healthy choices as unhealthy ones, the report says.
The researchers call for governments to:
Introduce a new housing benefit, geared to income and rental costs, so the poor have more money to buy healthy foods.
Introduce incentives to bring big grocery stores into poor neighbourhoods.
Eliminate the pricing influences of dairy marketing boards.
The report says that in 2009, more than 375,000 Ontarians were turning to food banks, a growth of 19 per cent over the previous year.
“Everyone has the basic right to access healthy and nutritious food,” it says. “Much needs to be done to ensure that we help reduce the obstacles that impede low-income households from accessing their basic right to nutritious food.”
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2010/12/21/con-staple-food-cost.html#ixzz1AqH2rMvf
