Many Gen Z Canadians borrowing money to buy food: study

A recent report that surveyed thousands people found a majority of them cite food as an expense that has significantly increased in the last year.

The Canadian Food Sentiment Index by Halifax’s Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab looks at Canadians perceptions of and attitudes towards food security, food affordability and consumer trust. The inaugural report, which is modeled after Purdue University’s Consumer Insight Report, surveyed 3,007 people across the country on Sept. 6 and 7.

"Surveys tend to give you a good picture of what's going on, but it doesn't give you a good picture or a solid picture of what has happened, how things have evolved and how are things likely to evolve over time, so that's what we're trying to do with this index," said Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.

The report, which was authoured by Charlebois, Dr. Gumataw Abebe, Dr. Armağan Özbilge, and Dr. Stacey Taylor, claims 84.1 per cent of respondents said food is an expense that has increased the most in the last year. The survey also found 48.2 per cent of respondents have sought out more sales and discounts while 30.5 per cent have used more coupons. Only 6.3 per cent of respondents reported little to no change to their grocery shopping habits.

"We believe that there are basically two food economies in Canada," Charlebois said. "You have a food economy for the wealthy and a food economy for the less affluent."

The report notes 46 per cent of respondents who fall in the Gen Z demographic (born between 1997 and 2012) reported borrowing money or using savings to buy food. Thirty-five per cent of millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) and 35 per cent of Gen X (born between 1965 and 1980) reported similar problems.

“This pattern reflects the substantial economic pressures younger generations face, possibly due to escalating food costs, higher living expenses, or unstable early-career employment,” the report says.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Avery MacRae