Smart shoppers stick with seasonal produce
Shoppers who are informed about food prices, watch for supermarket specials and stay aware of the seasons for fresh produce are getting more for their money, according to a new survey by the University of Guelph’s Food Institute and Dalhousie University.
In a year when Canadian fruit and vegetable prices rose 14 per cent and as much as 25 per cent in some regions, low-income families were shown to have cut back on fresh produce and switched to frozen versions and juices with reduced nutrition.
“The key is paying attention,” says food distribution professor Sylvain Charlebois, who headed the bilingual survey of 1,007 Canadian consumers. “Not all juices are created equal,” he added in an interview from Guelph.
Well-educated shoppers know to switch from a high-priced vegetable, such as cauliflower when it soared in price last winter, to an equivalent food. “Plan your shopping,” said the professor, “and be aware of market fluctuations.”
“There’s always something else (in the produce department),” said Sophie Perreault, who heads the Association québécoise de distribution de fruits et légumes du Québec. “We want something to be available all year round but there are so many varieties (of produce). For example, rapini. If you don’t know it, click on the Internet and there are your recipes,” she suggested from her office in StLéonard.
“It was really an exceptional winter for high produce prices,” Perreault said. Foods from Chile, Mexico, California and Florida all had problems that resulted in high prices. But people switched from expensive foods to cheaper choices, she said, noting that the total volume of foods sold did not change.
The survey, conducted by telephone between May 12 and May 24, showed most shoppers — 73 per cent — are buying produce in such warehouse and discount stores as Costco, Walmart, Super C and Maxi.
Another proof of price-consciousness Perreault cited: sales of store brands have increased.
Canadians have relied heavily on imported produce in past winters, said Charlebois, but he forecast more local produce will be available in future thanks to increases planned in Canada for greenhouse production.