WINDSOR -- The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is calling an increase in food prices a public health concern.
The health unit's annual nutritious food basket report shows weekly food costs in the region have jumped 8.8 per cent compared to this time last year.
Manager of chronic disease at the health unit Neil Mackenzie says those living on fixed incomes or below the newly updated living wage figure of $15.52 an hour are most at risk of poorer health outcomes.
“For a lot of people, there's more month left at the end of the money than there is money,” says Mackenzie. The report estimates the average grocery bill for a family of four with a teenage boy and young girl to be just over $211 a week.”
The program tracks the prices of 67 kitchen staples like chicken, beef, fruits and vegetables and doesn't include things like processed products or even spices.
Mackenzie says the health unit is working to engage key stakeholders and partners to find a long-term solution.
“This time of the year we have a lot of people making donations to foodbanks,” says Mackenzie. “I think sometimes people think that's a long-term solution. It isn't. It's emergency based, dealing with crisis at time for people who are hungry. So, we need to look at some more long-term, sustainable strategies.”
