Maybe the government’s inaction on food inflation makes it seem like they don’t even know about it, but turns out they do! They even post data about it on their blog!
We used Statistics Canada data to compare the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food items to the CPI for all items. The chart below shows how food prices were increasing at over double the rate that other items were from mid-2022 to mid-2023.
The data also shows that by the end of last year, price inflation for food was getting closer to that of non-food items, which hopefully means prices are starting to stabilize. What it does not mean is that the food items are getting cheaper, just that their rate of price increase is closer to that of all the other stuff you buy but can’t eat (but might try to eat soon).
Phase 2 Cometh!
In other Hoser Food Tracker news, we are continuing to add other stores to the tracker, and now have our first two non-box stores in the mix: Grace Meat Market and Raise the Root!
Until now, our dataset has been limited to chain stores and stores with the capability to build a website – this is less useful to the people in the city, and we're trying to change that. We would love to feature price data from the stores that you shop at: independent grocers, fruit markets in your neighbourhood, bulk stores, butchers, bakeries. We want to help you find the cheapest groceries in the city, while collecting data for our project and we have a few ideas cooking!
The first is that we are now accepting data through direct submissions from smaller stores. So, if you or someone you know runs a grocery store, send an email to hosergrocerytracker@gmail.com and we will set you up with the way to submit!
We have also been working to make the tracker faster and more functional. We are so excited about what we are building and grateful for the community feedback we are getting.
