It took the first 39 days of 2017 to reach Food Freedom Day in Canada, according to the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.
The organization annually calculates the date by which Canadians will have earned enough income, on average, to pay their grocery bill for the full year.
It came Feb. 8, a day earlier than in 2016.
The CFA uses Statistics Canada data to divide food expenditures by average household disposable income and then prorates that to represent calendar days.
Canadians spent about 10.7 percent of their disposable income on food last year, down slightly from 11 percent in 2015.
CFA used this year’s Food Freedom Day to launch Canada 150 activities highlighting agriculture and food contributions to the country.
Canada ranks in the top five countries for lowest food costs.
“As Canada approaches its 150th birthday, we’ll take a close look at the relationships between Canadians, their food and farming communities,” CFA president Ron Bonnett said during the launch near Parliament Hill.
There, he and vice-presidents Humphrey Banack and Marcel Groleau served free soup.
