The price of groceries soared by 11.4% in September, reaching a 41-year high.
Such record-high inflation have left Canadians struggling financially: A national survey showed that one in five Canadians can no longer afford to eat as healthily as they did before the pandemic, and about 1 in 3 Canadians are skipping meals to save money.
Now let’s switch to a farmer’s perspective:
Richard Melvin owns 36 hectares of cauliflower in Nova Scotia, and he says up to 40% of the crop are plowed back into the ground because of tight standards imposed by the retailer; these perfectly edible cauliflowers are rejected for being too creamy-coloured, too big or too small.
Melvin says the wastage of cauliflower at his farm would be enough to feed the entire province.
Many farmers are in the same boat – their crops are plowed back or discarded as they cannot afford to harvest, package and transport fruits and vegetables that are unpaid for.
Indeed, a 2019 government report estimated a 13% wastage of Canadian-grown crops.
It’s quite apparent that we need to connect the dots here – these healthy foods need to find their way into the kitchen of those suffering from food insecurity.
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