Winnipeg home economist says look past ‘best before’ dates, shop less to cut down food cost, waste

The rising cost of groceries due to record inflation may be leading many to add saving money on food to their list of resolutions for the new year.

The 2023 Canada Food Price Report, released by a group of a group of Canadian universities, estimates food prices will increase by another five to seven per cent on average this year.

Researchers say a typical family of four will be forced to shell out an average of $16,288 on food over the course of 2023 — an increase of $1,065 from this year. A two-adult household will spend $7,711, a bump of more than $500 from 2022.

Those increases will come as food inflation remains above 10 per cent, according to Statistics Canada figures released late last year.

0:34 Winnipeg shoppers react to climbing food costs

Getty Stewart, a Winnipeg-based home economist, says those resolving to save on food costs can get started quickly by simply making sure they’re using the groceries they buy.

She says that can be as easy as planning meals ahead of time and making fewer trips to the grocery store.

“If we can somehow manage to only go to the grocery store once a week … and if you’re already there, push it to once every two weeks – you will definitely save money,” Stewart said Tuesday.

“Because every time we walk into the grocery store, we see things, we add things to our cart, that we didn’t even know we wanted or needed.”

Stewart suggests planning four meals a week ahead of time, which will leave room for going out, ordering in, or creating a surprise meal while still making it easier to stick to a shopping list.

The food price report predicts price hikes will be seen across all food groups, but expects vegetables to see the biggest cost increase of six to eight per cent. The cost of eating out at restaurants is set to go up four to six per cent, along with the price of seafood.

1:01 Canadians still favour best-before dates despite increased food waste

Fruit prices are expected to see the smallest bump of up to five per cent, while every other category — meat, bakery products and dairy — will go up between five and seven per cent.

Stewart says out of all the food that gets tossed out — fruits and vegetables are most common — leftovers are a close second.

It’s why she recommends making sure fresh produce is kept in the fridge while root vegetables — things like onions and potatoes — are kept out.

‘Use the sniff test’

One of the biggest money-saving tricks Stewart recommends might be a little counterintuitive for some — thinking twice about throwing out food that’s past the “best-before” date.

“The minute you open that container, that best-before date is null and void so don’t even bother looking at it once you’ve opened the container,” she said.

“Use the sniff test, especially for dairy. It will tell you when it’s ready to toss.”

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Manufacturers have used the labels for decades to estimate peak freshness. Unlike “use by” labels, which are found on perishable foods like meat and dairy, “best-before” labels have nothing to do with safety and may encourage consumers to throw away food that’s perfectly fine to eat.

Stewart says as well as stretching out the food that’s in the fridge, learning to look past best before dates can also save money at the store, as those items are often marked down.

Ultimately cutting food cost and waste is good for more than just our pocketbooks, says Carleton University accounting professor, Leanne Keddie.

With the United Nations estimating that 17 per cent of global food production is wasted each year, Keddie says food waste is both a social and environmental problem too.

3:22 Rising inflation and food costs in Manitoba

“We simultaneously have people that are still quite food insecure, they have trouble accessing food, there’s not enough food to go around,” Keddie said.

“At the same time as anywhere from 30-60 per cent of our food is being wasted.”

While issues that have led to rising in food costs are expected to continue in 2023 — supply chain problems, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a weaker Canadian dollar — there may be a light at the tunnel coming, according to one of the researchers behind the food price report.

“We are hoping that we will see a peak and, hopefully, a tapering off of food inflation toward the end of 2023,”  Samantha Taylor, a senior instructor of accountancy at Dalhousie University, told Global News last month.

— with files from Global’s Teagan Rasche, Sean Boynton, and The Associated Press