After soaring inflation already led to a spike in food prices in 2022, Canadians can expect food prices to rise a further 5% to 7% next year, according to the latest study.

Canada’s Food Price Report is an annual collaboration between Dalhousie University, the University of Guelph, the University of Saskatchewan and the University of British Columbia.

This year’s report forecasts that an average family of four will spend up to $16,288.41 per year on food, an increase of over $1,000 from what was observed in 2022. It predicts that the most substantial increases will be seen in veggies, dairy and meat, with Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick being the most impacted regions.

“Consumers will continue to get smarter about grocery shopping as they navigate through this so-called food inflation storm,” Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, project lead and director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.

According to the report, more consumers attempted to save during grocery trips by reading weekly flyers and using coupons, while 47% of Canadians have purchased cheaper alternatives, brands, or items to adjust their spending in the face of current inflation rates

Consumers under age 35 are more than twice as likely to have used more coupons, and those who earn less than $50,000 per year are using coupons more often than those with higher income. Avenues like buying in bulk to save money appear to be more popular with Canadian shoppers, but 54% feel the practice is unfair to smaller households or single people, and 47% feel volume discounts lead to more food waste.

According to the report, now is the time to become a “smart shopper” by consulting flyers for specials, creating and sticking to a budget and shopping list, looking for substitutes for expensive foods (such as frozen fruits and vegetables instead of fresh, and plant-based proteins like chickpeas or lentils instead of meat), or freezing meat when it is on sale.