Affordability of Canada's Food Guide: Current challenges amid COVID-19, War in Ukraine, and other world events

Stacey Taylor; Sylvain Charlebois; Janet Music

doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.1085855

Affordability of Canada's Food Guide: Current challenges amid COVID-19, War in Ukraine, and other world events

Front Nutr. 2023 Mar 30:10:1085855. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1085855. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Stacey Taylor¹, Sylvain Charlebois², Janet Music³

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Computer Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
² Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
³ Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.

Abstract

Since the 2019 Canada Food Guide was released, there have been concerns raised over the cost of food, with an emphasis on the affordability of nutritious food. In this study, we evaluate the affordability of the 2019 Canada Food Guide in relation to the previous edition from 2007. As a result of the pandemic and other significant world events, many are feeling financial stress as prices in many areas of life rise, including housing, gas, and food. Our results show that it is more cost-effective, on average, for children and teens to follow the 2019 Canada Food Guide, but more expensive for adults, when compared to the 2007 edition.

Keywords: COVID-19; Canada's Food Guide; cost analysis; food insecurity; policy for food.