One Vancouver-based shopper is speaking out about staggering grocery prices after finding a single head of cauliflower cost $9.
Sinead Vesey went to get groceries at IGA in downtown Vancouver and saw that heads of cauliflower were going for $3.99 per pound. The cauliflower she weighed was 2.28 lb, making it $9.10 to buy.
Vesey said that prices are “ridiculous” and create stress in figuring out her meals.
“It does add stress to try and think about what can I actually kind of afford to eat,” she said.
It’s not just cauliflower that she finds is getting more expensive.
“At one point, a friend had even paid $12 for squash and you don’t even use all of it,” she said.
Vesey described how food inflation contributes to a bigger issue of being able to afford to eat healthily.
“It’s bad that you’re trying to stay healthy and, you know, stay fit and stuff, but it’s just costing too much money,” she said. “It’s generally cheaper to buy food that’s not good for you. That’s not the way we should be going.”
Margarita Young/Shutterstock
With the continual food inflation, Vesey is “eating less” and turning to buying things on offer or travelling to multiple shops to try and find affordable prices.
“I was buying these pita chips in IGA, which is funny because it was cheaper there. It was like $4.69, and then in No Frills, the exact same one was $6.99,” she said.
“It’s only worse now because you really have to shop around so much and take so much time just so you could get things at the right price.”
Vesey hopes for greater transparency from grocery stores in how their food is sold, especially about shrinkflation.
“You’re getting less, I suppose, quantity, but you’re still paying the same price,” she said. “I think be a bit more transparent.”
Aside from greater transparency in how much food people get for their buck, Vesey says groceries should be generally cheaper.
“They should be more affordable. Nobody should have to pay like $9 for a cauliflower.”
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