Regina consumers looking for food bargains as inflation increases

Food bargains are in high demand as grocery shopping habits shift.

According to a new report from Dalhousie University, Canadians are more likely to buy discounted food.

Regina local Eileen Stranja uses flyers and apps to help her find food bargains in the city.

“I think if you’re a sales hunter, you know where to look when you go to certain stores. Like I merchandise in Walmart. So, I know where to look for markdown deals,” she said.

This is partly due to the food inflation rate, though, it’s slowing says a Dalhousie researcher.

“Things are easing, supply chains are much easier to manage, they’re more predictable which means that we’re getting access to better deals,” said Sylvain Charlebois, Dalhousie University, Agri-Food Analytics Lab Director.

Dalhousie University says 59 per cent of Canadians surveyed are consistently looking for discounted foods, whether the food is on clearance or close to its expiry or best before dates.

“A lot of people are bargain-hunting quite aggressively,” said Charlebois. “In fact, they’re visiting new stores and just buying anything that’s on sale.”

Regina’s Food Bank is serving up to 16,000 people a month. But they are seeing the pace slow down now.

“It’s still up quite considerably over last year…but compared…to the past couple years, it’s slowing down,” said John Bailey, Regina Food Bank CEO.

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