N.S. has lowest food price inflation but food insecurity remains high
Posted Jul 22, 2025 03:05:03 PM.
Last Updated Aug 12, 2025 10:49:02 AM.
Canadian food prices continue to rise, with the average grocery bill totalling 3.4 per cent more in May 2025 compared to the year prior, according to the Consumer Price Index.
But a new analysis from Dollarwise shows Nova Scotia experienced the slowest increase in the past year.
Over the last 12 months, food prices have increased by 2.7 per cent in Nova Scotia. That is a whole percentage point lower than neighbouring New Brunswick, which experienced the greatest increase.
“Many Canadian families are already struggling to make ends meet, and these food price hikes make things worse,” Jack Prenter, CEO of Dollarwise, said in a press release.
Not all grocery items are facing equal price changes. Month over month, grapes jumped 21.4 per cent while berries dropped 8.6 per cent.
“Not all food categories face the same increases,” Prenter said. “Families should look at shifting their shopping habits toward items with more stable prices to better manage their food budgets.”
But while Nova Scotia may have experienced the slowest increase, many residents are still struggling to make ends meet.
In 2023, Nova Scotia had the highest proportion of its population facing food insecurity at 28.9 per cent. That number increased slightly to 29.3 per cent in 2024, but still remains much higher than prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That situation has been exemplified by the summer season.
Ash Avery, executive director of Feed Nova Scotia, says the end of school food programs and other services means thousands of food-insecure children face greater challenges in the summer.
“Nova Scotia has the second-highest rate of children under 18 living in food-insecure households across Canada,” she said. “That looks like about 71,000 kids that are lacking food access every single day.”
Feed Nova Scotia feeds more than 23,000 people each month by supporting 140 food banks, shelters, soup kitchens, and meal programs across Nova Scotia. That number represents 52 per cent more people than the non-profit supported in 2022.
– With files from Mark Hodgins
