A new poll has found that almost a third of British Columbians are “more stressed” about having enough money to make it to the end of each month.
The poll, conducted by Research Co. in partnership with United Way BC, found that rising food costs have forced many British Columbians to change their shopping and dietary habits.
More than a third said they have switched packaged food brands to a lower-priced generic alternative or changed their diet completely to avoid products that have become more expensive.
More than one in five (21 per cent) said they have cut back on lunches for themselves, 12 per cent have cut back on medications and about four per cent have cut back on children’s lunches.
“Just over two-in-five British Columbians aged 18-to-34 (41 per cent) acknowledge modifying their diet because specific products have become unaffordable,” Mario Canseco, president of Research Co., said in a release.
“The proportion is also noteworthy among British Columbians aged 35-to-54 (36 per cent) and aged 55 and over (28 per cent).”
Just under one in four residents, 23 per cent, said they or other household members had to reduce the size of their meals recently due to affordability.
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When it comes to nutritious meals, of which ingredients are often more expensive, about 18 per cent said they are unable to afford healthier meals and about 15 per cent said they have to skip meals due to affordability.
Fifteen per cent said that they accessed food through a community organization or a food bank.
Almost a third of British Columbians (31 per cent) are more stressed now than two years ago about having enough money to make it to the end of the month, the poll found.
Many British Columbians are also eating less due to not having enough money to buy food and more than one in five said they have had a senior family member, coworker or friend express concern about paying for non-essential but important things such as holiday gifts for others, coffee or social activities, due to the rising cost of living expenses.
Alžběta Sabová, director of Food Security, Community Impact and Investment at United Way BC, told Global News food affordability and security are urgent issues.
“All the numbers are alarming, but when we see people making significant changes to their diets because they can’t afford food, so they would eat less or they would skip food or they will not send kids to school with lunches, that is something that is very alarming,” she said.
Sabová said that organizations and governments need to work together to address these issues.
“We need to make sure that our retailers and suppliers are also understanding what is going on and what their customers are experiencing,” she added.
“We also need to be sure that we continue working with provincial governments. So there’s policies and some of these issues addressed in a more global scale. And we also need to continue working on the not-for-profit level to ensure that we’re supporting families and people that are experiencing this, so they can access resources, they have sufficient programs available, and we can really transition them and help them in these really significantly impacting times of their lives.”
Being able to afford food is a similar stress to other key issues, such as paying rent or mortgage and having enough time to care for themselves and their families, according to those polled.
Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted from April 24 to April 26, 2026, among 801 adults in British Columbia. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in British Columbia. The margin of error — which measures sample variability — is +/- 3.5 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
Never have I seen so much rot in the produce department, where does all the good stuff go ?
Well, three times bounced by censorship. Thats ok. I know why and by whom my life is effected by. I know who gets fat and why. I dont media to lie to me. I see it everyday in those I work for. I see it every time I walk out of a grocery store feeling suckered just cause I need to eat. Each time I fill my tank I see it. And feel it.
Each time I hear Carney’s so virtuous voice or see Eby’s face contorting on TV, I know where the corruption and the hunger pangs of many come from. So do millions of others.
Keep pressing. The thing with hungry people, they are desperate. They want to simply eat and be satisfied. They want to feed their families. Desperate folks will do what they need when the time comes to survive. Hope the barons, nabobs and kings and queens are ready for that.
And after the 15 years of disastrous liberal policies that have led us to this point, you braindead woketards will continue to vote liberal. You caused your heartache and deserve everything you get.
It’s all Trump, Pee Pee and Harper’s fault.
Justin Trudeau’s plan to start cricket farming as a staple for Canadians was one of his greatest ideas but Pee Pee and his Clownvoy made Justin look bad and now we all have to suffer because he is no longer the PM
Carney said Judge me by your grocery prices in a year.
OK,Mark,judgment passed,you failed.
BC is under control of a ideology saturated radical leftist in a country that just spent 10 years under control of the same lunacy perpetrated by a Prime Minister who spent more time thinking about socks and shoe polish rather than doing his job.
This country is a socialist disaster ,of course the cost of living is spiraling out of control.
$45 for one grilling steak. $74 dollars for a small pot roast. $2.00/liter for gas. Can you guess which store?
Saw the local homeless helping themselves to food in Real Canadian superstore kamloops the other day. No one wants to stop them. I think they need to have their legs broken.
Cargy and the Ebbs living large while the norms struggle :(
Ask our elected officials.
They give themselves raises, while the rest of us have to buy No Name products.
Carney and Eby are more worried about appeasing First Nations.
Yes all those l I b t a r d s who voted for Carney won’t be happy until we’re all lining up at food banks and living in tents.
“Elbows up”
ask environmental Eby
ASK CARNEY IF HIS FAMILY IS EATING DIFFERENTLY ?