JUSTINFLATION: Food prices to skyrocket by nearly $1,000 per family in 2022

Canadians in a family of four are looking at a hefty increase in food prices for 2022, Canada's Food Price Report said on Thursday.

According to the report, those in a family of four will pay an extra $966 in food in 2022.

This will bring an average family's food bill for the year up to $14,767.

Prices, they say, are likely to increase due to supply chain disruptions, labour market shortages, and "adverse weather events."

"It’s important for consumers to understand that food prices have been going up for some time, and there’s no turning back," says Canada’s Food Price Report project lead Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie.

"Our relationship with food is changing, and so will our food budgets. Showing up at the grocery store knowing what you should be paying will help."

"The era of cheap food has ended," said Sylvain Charlebois, according to CTV. "Prices have been increasing since 2010 and the pandemic accelerated that trend."

The report suggests three vital tips for families looking to keep more money in their pocket; budget, eat healthy, and to look out for community collectives around food, such as community gardens and to buy local.

"Over time, it will be critical to think about our food autonomy, and build some capacity domestically so we can grow more food all year," says Dr. Charlebois.

"Processing will also need some attention to make sure we can continue to process our own commodities. We’ve made some good progress in recent years, and need to continue on our path."

"Many of our high-cost items, such as fruit and vegetables, are imported and subject to fluctuations in the Canadian dollar, weather, and oil price changes," said University of Guelph campus lead Simon Somogyi.

"Vegetables are important to our health and they are typically quite expensive and can have a very short season in Canada," he went on to say. "We could be producing more fruits and vegetables here with a concerted strategy to invest in more technology such as indoor farming techniques and R&D incentives to develop better technology that makes indoor farming more efficient and less costly."