Nutrition News: Food insecurity and its nutritional impacts

grocery shopping with receiptFood prices and the cost of other necessities in Canada are predicted to continue to rise through 2022. This will further impact already high grocery bills, which could lead to increased growth in food insecurity, suggests Canada’s Food Price Report 2022, from Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab. The report predicts there will be a 5-7% increase in food costs in 2022.

The growing cost of food will increase food insecurity in Canada, and consequently, a lack of proper nutrition, says Pegeen Walsh, executive director of the Ontario Public Health Association. As the gap grows, there will be an increased risk of serious long-term health complications like diabetes, cancer and heart disease for Canadians.

A lack of proper nutrition can be solved by high protein and cost-efficient foods, like peanuts and peanut butter. Both are full of protein, fibre, healthy fats, and essential vitamins and minerals recommended daily in Canada’s Food Guide. Packed with immunity-boosting vitamins and minerals, like vitamin E, vitamin B6 and folate, peanuts and peanut butter are meeting Canadians’ snacking and food demands more than ever before while maintaining their “pantry staple” status.