In the premises of the Twins, we do not directly feel the effects of food inflation. At all.
It smells more like cinnamon.
Especially if, by some miracle, there was sour cream in the food recovered from Moisson Montreal that week. In this case, the participants of the culinary workshops of this community organization will be able to cook cakes made with the original ingredients rather than substitutes.
If it is not visible at first glance, the rise in food prices complicates the life of the management of this organization in the Saint-Michel district, in Montreal.
On Tuesday, we learned that food inflation had slowed down a bit in the country. In particular in the fresh vegetable section, the price of which fell slightly in April compared to the previous month. But this is not the case in the neighboring stall, the fruit stall, which we paid more for.
These movements can sometimes go unnoticed by someone who does their grocery shopping and does not systematically analyze the prices of everything. It’s far more important for an organization that has to balance its budget by including food purchases.
Les Jumeleurs is a group that offers an integration program for people living with intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorders or learning disabilities.
Food here is a tool. The members cook, three days a week. In rare exceptions, participants will integrate the labor market and perhaps in an environment that has a link with what they do in the kitchen. But the goal of the workshops is rather to give confidence and skills that they can then apply in all spheres of their lives. “They develop social skills at the same time,” says the organization’s executive director, Stéfania Tremblay.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Hugues Auguste cooks cakes made with small individual containers of sour cream salvaged from a restaurant. Each of the individual formats was emptied to be cooked. There were about 300…
less meat
At Les Jumeleurs, the price of food therefore has a considerable impact, in two distinct ways.
First, the donations received by Moisson Montreal have changed a lot. The amount of meat collected has decreased. “Within a year, we went from picking meat every week to once every two weeks,” explains Stéfania Tremblay. And the quantity has decreased by 50%. Sometimes there is none at all.
The pandemic and rising food prices have reduced food waste in general, says Marie-Claude Beauchamp, program manager for the organization. People who never considered buying the stale fruits and vegetables sold at the end of the grocery aisle are now doing so.
Anti-waste apps have also helped shopkeepers pass on less fresh foods, including meat and dairy products. That’s good, but it also means less food for Moisson Montreal and its beneficiaries.
As at Les Jumeleurs, we cook with what we receive and supplement it by buying what’s missing at the grocery store, operating costs have jumped. Because not only are the prices at the grocery store higher, but sometimes you have to run to two or three establishments to get discounts. Not the best use of human resources, says the general manager, who has already done the shopping herself – and pretty much all the other tasks for the group.
In their apprenticeship workshops, members cook dishes that are sold as frozen meals to the general public. These dishes therefore become a milestone in the group’s financing, i.e. 10% of total income. However, the cost of production for a dish has increased by 69% in total, but the price remains stable to allow a disadvantaged population to have access to healthy food.
Another adjustment factor: the group receives more vegetable protein. Tofu, but also anything that falls into the “faux meat” and “fauxmage” categories. Rising food prices have reduced the sale of some substitutes. Consequently, they end up with community organizations, which must transform them.
These days, if you buy a shepherd’s pie made by the Matchmakers, it will be made with processed vegetable protein. The share of vegetarian dishes has increased from 40% to 70%, or even more depending on the arrivals.
Meatloaf? No meat ! Because in addition to receiving less from Moisson Montreal, the price of meat at the grocery store is too high to buy it regularly.
The indexation of community organizations by the Department of Health and Social Services is 3.7%. “We are still below the reality of real inflation, says Stéfania Tremblay. Every year, we are below, so we have fallen seriously behind. »