Home cooks turn to farms for supplies
Food expenditures to rise, but families aren’t necessarily going to spend more on groceries, prof says
Farm gate sales at Jill Azanza’s K&M Farms have tripled every month since the COVID-19 pandemic began, as people radically overhaul their relationship with food, shopping and eating out.
“There is no doubt that people are cooking more in their homes,” she said. “I am very happy to see people really reconnecting with their kitchens by cooking all their meals in-house now.”
People feel safer at the farm than at the grocery store because only one customer is allowed in her store at a time and they offer contactless pickups at the end of the driveway, said Azanza, who raises free-range chickens and turkeys in Abbotsford.
Azanza hopes people will go back to thinking of dining out as a special treat rather than a daily ritual. Right now, with the restaurant industry all but shut down, that is the world we live in.
And there is some evidence that changes in people’s behaviour may be long-lasting.
Fully 55 per cent of adults under 35 say they intend to cook more at home when the pandemic is over, according to new research by Angus Reid and Dalhousie University. Just 22 per cent of young adults said they would likely eat out more. Even Canadians 35 and older were more likely to say they will cook more rather than eat out or order in, suggesting that interest in home cooking may extend past the explosion of sourdough baking that has swept across social media.
Before the pandemic, British
Columbians typically spent about 30 to 40 per cent of their monthly food budget dining out or eating prepared foods, according to Dalhousie professor Sylvain Charlebois.
The 2020 Canada Food Price Report predicted that food expenditures by Canadians would increase by up to four per cent this year, and Charlebois stands by the figure. That is an increase of almost $500 a year for a typical family to about $12,667.
It will likely increase by another $500 next year as well, as the food processing and food service industries adapt to physical distancing on the plant floor and the dining room.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean that families will spend more on food overall, especially if they eat out less often.
“Cooking at home is clearly part of people’s plan,” he said. “Right now, they have no choice, but the attraction is that they are saving money by cooking and eating at home.”
They may also be hoping to avoid the grocery store. Nearly 65 per cent of Canadians report going grocery shopping less frequently, according to the survey.
Most Canadians have changed their grocery shopping routine. More than 80 per cent use hand sanitizer and more than 40 per cent wash their groceries with disinfectant when they get home. About 30 per cent report wearing a mask at the grocery store and 26 per cent wear gloves. More than 1,500 Canadians were surveyed in April for the study.
Restaurateurs expect hungry diners will be ready for a chef-made meal when the time comes, but it will not be business as usual. The food service industry submitted a plan to the provincial government last week detailing the changes they plan to make as restaurants reopen to ensure that diners feel safe.
The details have not been released.
“You’re going to see a lot more social distancing in the front of house and a visual emphasis on sanitation,” said Ian Tostenson, president of the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association. “You will see more separation between the servers and the people who clean and who cook.”
When they do reopen, restaurants will operate at a reduced capacity, “while everybody has to keep their distance,” he said.
Tostenson predicts that tapas-style meals and sharing plates will become more common as restaurants try to offer diners options at a variety of price points.
“It allows you to dial in your comfort level with price in a snack-and-share kind of environment,” he said.