Going to the grocery store has become a somewhat stressful trip for some New Brunswickers in recent months, with one in four residents facing financial constraints preventing them from that ideal trip to the store.
High inflation numbers affecting the price of groceries have some in the province forced to pick between cheaper and less healthy items rather than the pricier nutritious food. Vitalité Health Network has launched a new guide to help combat these issues titled Eat Better, Spend Less.
“Among people suffering from food insecurity three out of five people have a job,” says Vitalite Public Health dietitian Karine Doucet. “There are people from all around New Brunswick you may not see that are food insecure and they may be struggling.”
The guide was created by Doucet and other dietitians working under the health network to help those living in the province making informed decisions when it comes to there food, while mitigating the negative effects of food insecurity.
The 24-page booklet starts off by offering New Brunswickers tips to help eat better and spend less. Some of those tips include making a grocery budget, watching for store specials, making a shopping list and sticking to it while out, and to opt for more home cooked meals among other suggestions.
To help encourage residents to cook at home, the guide also has a number of cheap, easy, and healthy recipes for people to try.
“We wanted to have recipes that would be easy for someone who relies on foodbanks,” Doucet points out. “But that would also be easily prepared by someone who isn’t going to the foodbank but is just trying to eat with their income.”
There is also shorter guide for newcomers to the province to help them adjust to life in a new country. Lorne Daltrop of the Saint John Newcomers Centre says new Canadians are no different to long time residents when it comes to food concerns in 2024, but is happy to see they weren’t forgotten in this Vitalité initiative.
“Part of the integration that is important for newcomers to feel like they are part of the community,” Daltrop says. “And having this sort of guide that is aimed at newcomers helping them focus on how to eat well and spend less as the program says can only help.”
“Anything that minimizes the impact of food insecurity is going to help in the long run.”
Executive director of the North End Foodbank Hazel Clark admits it can be difficult for users to determine what to do with all their food after picking up from the foodbank. She said she often overhears people in line at the foodbank talking about what to do with their food, and says programs like this will be a big help.
“I do notice that a lot of people spend time talking to each other saying what are you doing with that, and what do you do and how do you make this,” says Clark, adding she plans to print copies of the package for clients to take home. “So yeah I think this will be helpful.”
She says it will also be helpful for people who don’t often cook, with the recipes including being very easy to follow and create. She says many of her clients are coming to the foodbank fist and then going to the grocery store to fill out the remainder of their cupboard for the week.
“Some of the things we don’t have are spices and oils,” Clark says. “It’s really nice if you can go and look at your recipe and say okay I got this from Hazel, now I can go to Sobeys, Superstore, or Dan’s Country Market and get what I need.”
More information on Eat Better, Spend Less, can be found on Vitalité’s website.
