Creative ways to deal with rising food costs

Canadians are getting creative and finding new ways to afford food. CBC’s Joel Ballard finds out how some people in British Columbia are coping with the rising costs and what it means for their bottom line.

Connect with CBC News Online:

»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

[hornedlobster]

This video offered 0 practical solutions so I will do that for you.

1. Buy veggies in frozen - they have the same nutrients at a fraction of the cost.
2. Potatoes, onions and carrots are cheap options for large meal prep - think soups and stews.
3. Meat can be bought cheaper in large quantities, and then kept in freezer bags to last months.
4. Lastly, dont get stuck in the habit of buying the same items if they continue to go up in price. Personally, bell peppers have increased from $5.99 to $8.99 recently in my supermarket. Therefore I've started buying carrots as a lower cost alternative.

[HS]

Cooking your own meals is the best way to save!!!

[StephBer]

The biggest reduction you can make is on unnecessary 'snack" food. My kids are only in their mid 20s. I baked cakes and biscuits for their lunches and had a full time job. A cake costs about 50 cents to make and can make 6 snacks for kids. My grandmother had to feed a family during the depression and I saw the way she lived. Even when she had money, she was frugal. She made and grew all her own food well into her 80s, except for meat. She never wasted any food, or anything really. The same dining table for 50 years, the same couch for 30. You can do it, but we all grew up in the consumer, throw away society and we all need to change, including me.

[dianethompson]

I am a senior on a fixed income. I dont own a car. I was going to the grocery store on the bus and then taking a cab home with my groceries. The cost of the cab ride is going up as well as the food costs. I found an on line app that delivers groceries to my door for one third of the cost of a one way cab ride. I buy less because I am not in the store being tempted to buy stuff I dont really need. I went from 80 dollars per week to around 50 dollars (delivery included. )I feel so sorry for young families. It is shameful that children and pregnant women cant afford to eat properly. The government needs to step up. There are plenty of very rich people who pay very low rates of taxes in this country. If they paid just a bit more it could help those less fortunate.

[mrcharliewebb]

We invested $100 to buy a used kitchen aid bowl mixer. We now make our own bread, tortillas, cookies, pasta, dog treats, etc. All so much more healthy, you know what your putting in it!!! And it's actually much more satisfying

[luckylunaloops]

Cook in large batches. Portion out and freeze individual servings. Saves $$$.

[NoVoice]

Creative ways? Know what mine is? I buy the basic staples once a month. Eggs, milk and bread. The essentials for sustenance. Chips, soda, candy, cereal and all the other stuff is a luxury. Not needed. If the food industry wants me to purchase that, they're going to have to fire a couple ceos and shareholders and reduce the price. Otherwise, I don't need it and won't buy it

[TRoxanne]

Shop sales, use coupons, use saving apps, cut down your shopping trips, always stick to your grocery list, buy in bulk and freeze, buy frozen veggies, cook at home, meal prep so you aren’t running to the store last minute, plan your meals and stick to it, limit eating out, cut out unnecessary foods, build up your pantry when prices are lower or on sale.

[johncasey]

When the pandemic hit and I saw the government printing money to hand out stimulus checks, I knew high inflation was on the horizon. I am a programmer for a major bank, make good money, love my tech toys, but I knew it was time to immediately switch gears. I started prepping. I started in 2020 stocking up on frozen and staple food, purchased strictly on sale. Purchased an extra chest freezer. I have over a years worth of food in my basement. My kids often shop in my basement to help them and it helps my wife and I rotate through food before it expires. If there are no sales on items I am interested in, I just skip grocery shopping, often for multiple weeks. I set aside the money I would have spent and then drop it all when the sales I am interested in return. I now pay all my bills the moment I receive them, well before the due date. I have also started saving like a mad man. Before anyone goes off, yes I have backup power solutions for my fridge/freezers in the event of a power outage.

[Tarapeutic]

Having a garden is great but once you factor in soil, pots, seeds (seedlings?) and various other things to get set up, it might not be the most economical. I garden anyway because it's amazing but it's not always a time or money saver. Personally my biggest tips for saving on groceries include batch cooking and freezing things, using things up before they spoil (or freezing them for later, ) buying items in season, shopping at the cheapest store (walmart or superstore) and not places like Safeway, and shopping less frequently. Running a "pantry challenge" is always fun too, using up what you already have can buy you a lot of budget freedom in the meantime and challenge your cooking skills. Staples like flour, eggs, sugar, etc are much cheaper than prepackaged foods. I rarely buy things like chips, chocolate bars, cookies, etc. If I want something, I have to make it! Bread included!

[donnaallgaier-lamberti]

Our local senior center is giving us free light meals right now. I can go to the center five days a week for lunch. The lunch is light and we choose between a lettuce salad, a sandwich or a cup of soup along with milk, an apple and small bag of chips. We just have to be a member and my membership is free because I have Senior Sneakers. This had saved me money as well as I find friendship and socialization. IF you make kids snacks at home not only are they cheaper they are healthier. When my kids were young I use to make zucchini cookies and banana bread with an orange for my kids snack. They also got the nutrients of vegetables and fruit as well. Our center also has a nice coffee shop with lower prices; a cup of coffee for $1.06, two gluten free cookies for $1.25 and the l like. I believe the coffee shop is subsidized.

[diy]

Another practical solution is to cut the pay of politicians by 75% or the money to pay for citizen expenses.

[vanessacaltabiano]

Greetings from Australia. Same issues here❤️

[beebee]

It's a great time to lose weight. I don't mean that harshly. I rarely buy things like baked goods, ice cream or meat. I walk almost everyday for stress relief...

[TMarie]

-Don't buy bread; make it yourself
-No "snack foods, " instead cut up carrots and celery sticks
-Instead of ice cream; make your own popsicles in ice cube trays
-Plant a small garden

[sct]

I walk into the grocery store, check unit prices, buy cheaper items, and shop only the peripheral of the store. I bake treats, cookies, cook from scratch, don’t buy red meat, only chicken, and some fish (sometimes on sale), beans, soups.
Maybe diet, intermittent fasting.

[OneMamaToAnother]

On top of higher wages, we need to change policies that don't allow gardens in place of lawns or prevent people from having chickens or fruit trees. We also need to learn how to cook from scratch and how to preserve and stop wasting food. The increase in food production in England during WWII is a model we should all be following.

[frankieamsden]

I really appreciate all the comments since the video gave no practical solutions however for those of us who have experienced the trauma of food insecurities fasting and loosing weight is not a good mental health option. I have found it more economical to buy cheaper cuts of meat or ground meat and mix it with oats. This stretches it and if cooked long enough isn't obvious. Cabbage with a cheap meat like a single sausage is a regular meal. Almost every leftover gets thrown in the soup pot. Cooking liquid has nutrients and flavor, save it. Do some online and Facebook research to find free food available for anyone regardless of income. There's churches that regularly hand out food.

[gwynethgrove]

It’s the same in the Uk. I grow most of our veg, cook cheap nutritious meals from scratch, freeze, pickle and jar food on a pension and cook meals for a local old age luncheon club. It’s what older people grew up having to do.

[songlin]

Here’s a tip. Buy bread in bulk. Then freeze them.

When you want to eat. Heat it up. It’s the same and basically don’t expire