The high price of being healthy

http://www.heartandstroke.mb.ca/site/c.lgLSIVOyGpF/b.4970003/k.616E/2009_Report_Card__Whats_in_strore_for_Canadas_heart_health.htm

And we wonder why obesity is on the rise in Manitoba. After reading this research by the Heart & Stroke Assoc of Canada It makes me sad that the health of every Canadian is not taken seriously.

It makes me sad that one of thier reccomendations is to legislate the cost of food across the country.

Why? As long as it drives food cost's down in markets that are paying a higher cost I don't have any problem with it.

Some of the price comparison's are ridiculous. One comparisson I saw on the news was 5 apples in Edmonton vs. same in Calgary. The apples were around $1.50 in Edmonton, and $5 something in Calgary. You can't tell me there's any logical reasoning for such a huge price difference.

For luxury items I'm all for letting the store charge whatever costs the consumer will bear, but for basic food items it seems logical to have some sort of consumer protection in place.

Off topic, has anybody else noticed how much grocery costs have risen in the last year? My food budget has practically doubled in the last 12 months with not much change in buying habits.

"You can't tell me there's any logical reasoning for such a huge price difference."
Different apples coupled with higher rent. Did they visit two Safeways or Superstores? Or did one visit a Superstore for Macs on sale and the other visit an organic market for golden delicious organic apples. Their report is pretty meaningless without all the details about what kind of apples, what kind of store and other information like that.
For instance... Safeway.ca has access to all the store flyers for all stores
Here is an edmonton one
http://safeway.ca.inserts2online.com/availableAds.jsp?drpStoreID=814
Here is a Calgary one
http://safeway.ca.inserts2online.com/availableAds.jsp?drpStoreID=291
Oh and what the heck here is a Winnipeg one
http://safeway.ca.inserts2online.com/availableAds.jsp?drpStoreID=717
notice anything ?

"Off topic, has anybody else noticed how much grocery costs have risen in the last year? "
I would not say doubled but yeah, increases on almost everything.

Deank wrote:"Off topic, has anybody else noticed how much grocery costs have risen in the last year? "
I would not say doubled but yeah, increases on almost everything.

This is attributed MOSTLY to shipping costs.

Since more than 90% of all produce and perishable products are shipped by truck across North America (trains are too slow), and fuel prices have nearly doubled over the past couple of years, and the governments are regulating the CRAP out of the borders and trucking companies, the costs get passed on to the consumers.

Yeah, shipping costs went up big time. Now that gas has dropped I expect there will be something of a reduction. I doubt prices will go down as fast as they went up though.

grumpy old man wrote:Yeah, shipping costs went up big time. Now that gas has dropped I expect there will be something of a reduction. I doubt prices will go down as fast as they went up though.

they never do... look at gas prices. when it was $36 barrel not to long ago it was still $.70 something a litre. back when first got my lisince 8 years ago. gas was around $35 a barrel and it was $.33 a litre.

so my question was when every one was like "YAY gas is cheap again" was why isn't it reflecting the same price as 8 years ago when gas was around that same price per barrel? the problem is... they have us right where they want us.

They have conditioned us to think its ok to pay alittle more. but its not. its a huge scam and they know what they are doing. and this is what i have to say to that... :mad 040:

okay... lets go back to the high price of being healthy.

so anyone else questioning their data now?

in my superstore today.
fresh ambrosia apples 86 cents per pound
in edmonton same apples 86 cents per pound
in Calgary same apples 86 cents per pound
in Abbotsford BC, same apples 86 cents per pound
in whitehorse, same apples 86 cents per pound

And do you really think that a national chain grocery store is going to advertise lower prices for local stores nationally when they print these flyers a week or two in advance. The pricing that the Heart & Stroke Association is looking at is the in store pricing that is reflective in certain areas. They are comparing pricing in like grocery stores in different cities on a given day for a specific set of criteria. Having traveled across Canada in summer when the fruit for example should be much cheaper than in the winter because of availability, I noticed that strawberries grown in Manitoba were actually cheaper in BC than here in Manitoba, local corn from Brandon sold to local Manitoba grocers were more expensive in Brandon than in Gimli on the September long weekend. I could go on but the reality of it is some places are more likely to have lower prices and it is unfortunate that Manitoba has one of the highest price lines for a lot of food. Below are examples taken from the Heart & Stroke site from four different locations across Canada and if you notice, Winnipeg is on average higher than even CornerBrook NF. So please when you are siting flyers remember that these are national flyers that are distrubuted on a national price basis not on a local sale basis.

Winnipeg, MB


Item Price National Avg.

MILK, 1 %, 4 L	$4.15	$5.26
Cheddar Cheese, Medium, 520g	$13.57	$9.15
Whole Wheat Pasta, 900 g	$8.14	$5.48
Brown Rice, 1 kg	$7.76	$4.99
Potatoes, 5 lb bag	$3.99	$4.25
Apples, Macintosh, 6 Medium	$3.73	$3.50
Lean Ground Beef, 1 kg	$6.85	$7.18
Peanut Butter, 1 kg	$6.49	$5.27

St. Catherines, ON


ItemPrice National Avg.

MILK, 1 %, 4 L	$4.87	$5.26
Cheddar Cheese, Medium, 520g	$8.19	$9.15
Whole Wheat Pasta, 900 g	$4.80	$5.48
Brown Rice, 1 kg	$4.18	$4.99
Potatoes, 5 lb bag	$3.99	$4.25
Apples, Macintosh, 6 Medium	$3.15	$3.50
Lean Ground Beef, 1 kg	$4.41	$7.18
Peanut Butter, 1 kg	$7.58	$5.27

Calgary, AB


ItemPrice National Avg.

MILK, 1 %, 4 L	$4.49	$5.26
Cheddar Cheese, Medium, 520g	$8.99	$9.15
Whole Wheat Pasta, 900 g	$6.78	$5.48
Brown Rice, 1 kg	$7.99	$4.99
Potatoes, 5 lb bag	$3.99	$4.25
Apples, Macintosh, 6 Medium	$5.02	$3.50
Lean Ground Beef, 1 kg	$8.98	$7.18
Peanut Butter, 1 kg	$6.49	$5.27

Corner Brook, NFLD


ItemPriceNational Avg.

MILK, 1 %, 4 L	$7.54	$5.26
Cheddar Cheese, Medium, 520g	$7.99	$9.15
Whole Wheat Pasta, 900 g	$4.74	$5.48
Brown Rice, 1 kg	$4.83	$4.99
Potatoes, 5 lb bag	$4.99	$4.25
Apples, Macintosh, 6 Medium	$1.91	$3.50
Lean Ground Beef, 1 kg	$7.25	$7.18
Peanut Butter, 1 kg	$4.99	$5.27

"So please when you are siting flyers remember that these are national flyers that are distrubuted on a national price basis not on a local sale basis.
"

Thats the whole point aint it? Where are these Heart and stroke people shopping when its fairly obvious that National Chains exist that sell in MANY of the cities they used for their data and those National chains have the same prices pretty much across the board. ( usually a east west split at the MB border ).

You can not tell me that they went shopping at the same type of store when comparing the Edmonton and Calgary stores. Its just not realistic at all, its like they called up Heart and Stroke reps in each city and said.. yeah just go shopping whereever you usually go, instead of the Yeah go shopping at the cheapest place.

Each shopper will have a different usual ranging from the Price choppers in Winnipeg to the more likely organic store in Calgary