Friday, March 29, 2024

Polls show most British Columbians are changing their lifestyle because of rising food costs

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Food prices rising have been hard to ignore in 2022.

A recent poll by BC based Research Co. shows that not only have most BC residents noticed the price increases, they are changing the way they live their lives as a result of the price hikes. 

Those changes are also proving to be detrimental to the health of British Columbians. 

The majority of the sample of BC residents who partook in the poll agree that food prices are higher across the board, be it lunch or dinner at a restaurant, food delivery or grocery shopping.

More than four-in-five people (82%) say that grocery store prices have noticeably risen. 13% said they believed costs have stayed the same, 4% said they’ve decreased and 1% said they were unsure of cost shifts at the grocery store. 

When it comes to having lunch or dinner at a restaurant, the results of this poll were strikingly similar. 69% think lunch prices have risen and 71% think dinner prices have risen, 14% say lunch and dinner costs have remained steady, 10% said that lunch costs are down while 9% said that dinner costs have decreased and lastly 7% believe that lunch costs are down compared to the 6% who believe dinners out have been cheaper. 

Notably, these price increases are being predominantly noticed by females over the age of 55-years-old. 

(Research Co.)

When food budgets increase, most BC residents agree they have been changing the way they live their lives, and not for the better. 

According to this poll, more than half of British Columbians are doing things like cutting back on dining out, not buying coffee from cafes and cutting back on treats. Only 14% claim to have done nothing to change their lifestyles as a result of rising food prices.

(Research Co.)
(Research Co.)

When asked, “All things considered, would you say your diet has been healthy over the past two months,” only 43% of BC residents said theirs probably has. Over one-quarter of respondents said that they were eating worse foods as a result. 

Of that one-quarter of respondents, 61% said that it was because they could no longer afford healthier food. 

(Research Co.)

In general, this poll shows that women pay slightly closer attention to rising food costs and their effects on day-to-day life than men. 

mm
Curtis Blandy
curtis@victoriabuzz.com

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