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Higher food prices coming to Whistler

Canada not isolated from global food crisis

While Canada will be spared the kinds of double digit food price increases that have caused rioting in developing countries, the record price of fuel and other factors is starting to have an impact on grocery and restaurant bills.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, which held a conference in Vancouver last week, acknowledged that there would be price increases over time but that they would be manageable and likely in the single digits for most products. For staples like flour, where prices are set by global markets, the increase may be in the double digits but Canadians will still enjoy some of the lowest food prices in the world.

The average Canadian family spends 10 to 20 per cent of their annual income on food, and families that spend more than 60 per cent of income on food are considered to be living below the poverty line. And while food prices have been increasing for years in step with fuel prices, the higher dollar has insulated Canadians from the effects of higher food production prices until recently.

In comparison, residents of developing countries spend 70 per cent or more of their income on food, while in the most impoverished countries in Africa it’s closer to 100 per cent, and hunger is common.

While a double-digit increase in the price of flour might inconvenience Canadians slightly, any increase in food prices forces residents of poorer countries to eat less.

The United Nations put out a plea this week for wealthy nations to boost the World Food Program after its own costs increased by more than 50 per cent for staples like cereals, dairy, meat, sugar and oils. Canada answered the call with an additional $50 million in food aid, bringing the total for 2008 to $231 million. The largest recipient will be Africa, although goods will also be sent to countries like Afghanistan and Haiti.

Several factors are being blamed for what the UN is calling a global food crisis.

The main factor is the rising price of fuel, which has increased the cost of food production and distribution — Canadian farmers are about to experience those higher prices as they plant this year’s crops.

Another major factor is the changing diets of increasingly wealthy countries like China that are importing more grain to feed livestock for meat production.

The biofuel boom and globalized food market has also been blamed, driving up the cost of feedstock as biofuel producers compete against meat producers, and farmers grow crops intended for fuel production instead of food. In the U.S., roughly 30 per cent of corn is now feeding the biofuel industry.

While the result of these factors has been a disaster globally, residents of Whistler can expect more modest increases in the future.

Sue Adam, owner and operator of The Grocery Store in Whistler Village and Market Catering, recently posted a sign at Delish in Function Junction to inform customers that prices were increasing because of the increased cost of products like flour. She also attended the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers conference in Vancouver, and came away with the message that prices are going up.

“I think it’s something that people can be concerned about,” she said. “It’s a global problem, so there’s nothing we can do about it until the problem is resolved globally, or somehow resolves itself.”

However, Adams is more concerned about the impact on developing countries than Canadians.

“It’s pretty obvious that the cost of food in Canada is lower than most other places in the world, and that we’re seeing a slower increase. I was in Australia recently, and read an article that compared the cost of food to consumers, and in Australia it was close to 50 per cent. Canada was something like 20 per cent.”

Adams says that Canadians should expect prices that are more in line with Europe, and prepare to make other changes as well.

“The message is that we’re in a long range situation, and we’re going to see a different way of dealing with our food in Canada. The cost of food in Europe and a lot of other places has always been higher than here, so in a way we’re just waking up to that reality,” she said. “There’s pressure on people to look at their eating habits, which is not a bad thing, and to make healthier decisions for ourselves and the environment.”

Adams says the answer for Whistler is to embrace the concept of a 100-mile diet, where grocery stores and restaurants make an effort to source foods locally. For Whistler, that means purchasing food from farmers in Pemberton, and reducing the cost of transporting food.

“For truckers, fuel prices have added a monstrous cost to their business, and I don’t think we’re seeing the full reflection of those transport costs in Canada — which means that truckers are probably absorbing some of those costs right now. That can’t go on forever before we see some real increases,” said Adams.

According to Adams, her businesses already purchase some food from Pemberton but are looking into purchasing more food items, including beef.

That doesn’t mean her grocery store won’t continue to stock imported foods like kiwis and strawberries in the off-season, but Adams believes that people are slowly becoming more educated about food and will embrace the idea of buying locally whenever possible.

Chris Quinlan, the owner of Behind The Grind and a founding member of the new Whistler Restaurant Association, is also planning to source more food locally in the future as price increases hit his business.

“Prices are going up,” he said. “It all depends on what you’re buying, but prices are increasing on everything, and from anywhere from five to 10 per cent on our end is what we’re hearing. I got a call from one supplier last week, and it’s eight per cent — that’s pretty much the new pricing, and it’s not going down.”

While most items are increasing by single digit percentages, some staples are costing a lot more recently.

The price of rice, for example, will be going up around 40 per cent — less than in countries like the Philippines and Thailand where prices have doubled, but enough to turn heads in Canada.

Quinlan says most restaurants won’t be able to absorb the costs and have no choice but to pass on the higher prices to their customers.

“It’s unfortunate but it’s true. If our costs go up 10 or 15 per cent, we can’t eat that because that’s more than our profit margin,” said Quinlan.

The perception for customers will vary. Someone paying $40 for a steak dinner in town might not notice an extra $4 on the price tag, but Quinlan says his customers will notice when items go up a dollar.

The restaurant association recently met with Pemberton farmers to learn about the different products that are available, and create arrangements to buy more food locally. Quinlan says the move will keep costs down, and keep more money in the community.

“We’re looking to be proactive with the 100-mile shopping concept, get as much as we can that’s produced locally and use those things in season when we can,” he said. “That keeps the cost of transport down and helps the local economy… and the quality is amazing.”