Rising food costs make for more-modest Quebec thanksgiving, some reduce meat-eating
Almost a quarter of Canadians say they'll be making at least some changes to their thanksgiving dinner menu this year because of rising food costs.
The average cost of a full spread with turkey, stuffing, potatoes, green beans, desert, and drinks, is now about $200 – a 12 per cent increase from last year.
The result, for many, is a shorter grocery list.
“What we found out is that 22 per cent of households are actually planning to make menu adjustments as a result of higher food prices," said food industry expert Sylvain Charlebois.
In Quebec, more people are using food banks. At the Welcome Hall Mission, about 4,000 people are using its two free grocery stores each week.
"I think the challenge around holiday time, whether it's Thanksgiving or whether it's Christmas time, is a lot of people have an image of what they'd like to have, and unfortunately that's not possible with the resources that they have,” said Welcome Hall Mission CEO Sam Watts.
“Thankfully, we're in a position where we can respond to some of that."
On Monday, the Montreal Alouettes will once again serve Thanksgiving dinner to those in need at the Welcome Hall.
“If you're living right on the edge, you're spending a disproportionate amount on food and rent and other basic items,” said Watts. “So, when we talk about inflation being at 7 per cent or 8 per cent, it's actually higher for people who are at the lower end of the income spectrum."
COST AND CLIMATE: CARVING OUT MEAT
“A lot of people and institutions are actually switching to plant-based options, like daycares and schools and other facilities, because they can cut on costs,” said cookbook author Caroline Huard. “Beans and legumes are much less expensive.”
However, pinched-wallets are not the only cause to Canadians cutting back. Some are pursuing plant-based diets due to climate concerns.
On Saturday, hundreds packed into the Palais des Congres for the 9th annual Vegan Festival. While many of those congregants were vegan themselves, not everyone does it full-time.
Festivalgoers sampled several meatless dishes at the festival, including a Montreal classic: lox and cream cheese – except the lox was fishless. Instead, it’s made of carrot.
The dish was created by a local company called By 2048.
“Our name was inspired by a study that predicted if we don't change our consumption habits, the oceans could run out of fish by the year 2048,” said Arthur Schiller, founder and CEO of the company.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton attacked in prison
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a "major assault."
DEVELOPING Defence rests without Donald Trump taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial
Donald Trump's lawyers rested their defence Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.
Passenger killed, 30 injured as Singapore Airlines flight hits severe turbulence
One passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI flight from London hit severe turbulence en route on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, officials and the airline said.
Feels like mid-30s in parts of Canada, while other areas expecting snow
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Canada's inflation cools to 3-year low of 2.7%, in boost for rate cut bets
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.
'Documents are fraudulent': Graceland is not for sale, Elvis Presley's granddaughter says in lawsuit
Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, is fighting plans to publicly auction his Graceland estate in Memphis after a company tried to sell the property based on claims that a loan using the king of rock ’n’ roll's former home as collateral was not repaid.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Nestle to sell $5 pizza, sandwiches in the U.S. for Wegovy, Ozempic users
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
What is BORG drinking, and why is it a dangerous trend? An expert explains
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.