Excluding gasoline, headline inflation would have been 4.0% in June, following a 4.4% increase in May.
Canadians continued to see elevated grocery prices (+9.1%) and mortgage interest costs (+30.1%) in June, with those indexes contributing the most to the headline CPI increase.
The all-items excluding food index rose 1.7% and the all-items excluding mortgage interest cost index rose 2.0%.
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230718/dq230718a-eng.htm?HPA=1
It’s almost like food is something everyone needs and has to buy no matter the cost, so there’s no incentive for grocery stores to reduce their profit margins.
Competition/survival is the only incentive to reduce profit margins. Co-ops have no profit incentive.
This, seemingly inevitable, position was a long term strategy from consolidated major players with a history of collision.
Immediate steps you can take to help:
If there is a co-op grocery option near you, join it. Second best is a local grocer. (Unpacking the supply chains is another beast…)
Join a CSA / buy direct from farms. Avoid imported foods to the extent possible.
Write you MP and MPP to support the removal of taxes on seeds and seedlings for food products, a tax that benifts major players and hurts non-profit growers.
Grow some food, share it with your friends/family. Either on your own property or, for us condoites, community gardens.
Sounds good but I can get all my groceries from Walmart and have next day delivery for like $7. I would love to ditch Walmart, but not having a car makes me value the logistics a lot.
Look up “farm boxes” or “farm co-ops” in your area.
My brother lives in the city but get a big box of local produce delivered weekly. It’s really cheap too for how much he gets. I’m pretty sure the program is just called “local farm box” or something like that.
The massive chains are always the cheapest in town. Until they’re the only ones in town, then the prices rise. This is the strategy, they kill local businesses then set the prices.
I appreciate the choice many be difficult for you as an individual, but appreciate you are making the wrong choice. I need, and sometimes just want, to make bad choices too.