Food Freedom Day reached February 7

February 7, 2014 – Today is Food Freedom Day, the calendar date when the average Canadian has earned enough income to pay for his/her annual grocery bill.  

Food Freedom Day (FFD) is calculated yearly by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA). This year, the CFA has chosen to focus on celebrating the Canadian Value Chain and Canadian products, and it feels supporting the Canadian brand is important now more than ever.

The CFA continues to see that a strong portion of the population places great value in buying local, Canadian products. A survey sponsored by Farm Credit Canada demonstrated that 95 per cent of respondents agreed that buying locally-grown food is a priority or preference; however, only 43 percent are willing to pay more for local products.¹ A study done by the George Morris Centre shows that while it has been documented that 80 per cent of consumers will choose local food over alternatives, recent research suggests that 40 is a more realistic percentage of consumers who prefer local food.² From these reports, the CFA sees that the concept of buying local Canadian products is important to Canadians, but when it comes to making the decision at the grocery store, other priorities come into play.

Cost is often noted as a factor. While this can certainly be appreciated as budgets for many are tight, it’s important to consider the larger picture. Canadian consumers enjoy a domestic food industry providing some of the lowest food costs in the world. In a 2012 comparison of food-at-home budget shares conducted by the USDA, Canada was found to spend the 3rd lowest share of their total expenditures on food in the world, behind only the US and Britain.³ According to Statistics Canada, Canadians are expected to have spent 10.6 per cent  of their disposable income on food in 2013. Maintaining such low costs alongside the high labour, environmental and food safety standards Canadians value is a challenge for Canada’s farmers, and they certainly welcome it when Canadians recognize these high standards, quality and the economic benefits of buying Canadian products. 

For more information on Food Freedom Day, click here. 

Sources:
[1] (FCC sponsored survey, 2011: http://www.betterfarming.com/online-news/consumers-want-local-foods-are-...)
[2] (Local Food - The Untold Story, George Morris Centre, 2007: http://www.georgemorris.org/publications/file.aspx?id=d83b5723-1334-4254...)
[3] (Congressional Research Service Report, 2013: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40545.pdf)