I wouldn’t have noticed them if the bus driver hadn’t pointed them out as we drove by. At least 20 people were lined up waiting for the local food bank to open.
This was a bus tour of farms and food processors in the Comox Valley of Vancouver Island. No one on the bus talked about the food bank lineup.
A few minutes earlier we had been visiting a local cheese manufacturing company and sampling their products, including soft cheese made from the milk of locally raised water buffalo.
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After the day’s activities and a wonderful but expensive meal at a Courtney restaurant, I couldn’t help but reflect on the many food contradictions that exist, in Canada and around the world.
An increasing number of people rely on food banks, while mainstream society seems hell-bent on finding ways to make food more expensive. For those of us with money, becoming a food snob has never been easier.
Eating organic, grass-fed, all natural, free range, hormone free and non-genetically modified all comes with a price tag. Despite blissful ignorance of most things agricultural, a growing number of consumers obviously believe these sorts of designations have value. Producers are just providing what consumers want and what they’ll pay for.
People lining up at a food bank are probably happy to just get something nutritious for themselves and their kids. Fresh beef probably isn’t an option, let alone fresh beef from a branded program. Any cheese would be welcome. It wouldn’t have to be the latest trendy cheese from water buffalo milk.
Food is extremely expensive in northern Canada, particularly for perishable items, because of transportation costs. Government programs aimed at making food staples more affordable in the north appear to have limited success.
Meanwhile, in the main urban centres, many large retailers not normally associated with selling food have muscled their way into the market using economies of scale to offer attractive prices. Walmart has gained a significant market share in the grocery market, while Shoppers Drug Mart, acquired a year ago by Loblaw, is one of the newest entrants in the food retailing business.
If you shop carefully you can provide basic meals at a relatively low cost. On the other hand, the sky is the limit for what you can spend on a meal at an expensive restaurant. An appetizer can cost what an entree used to not long ago.
If you took your sweetheart out for supper on Valentine’s Day, you may have spent more money on that one meal than some couples allocate for groceries for an entire week.
Despite all the hype about supposedly healthier food, obesity has become a major health concern. We eat too much and we eat too many of the wrong things.
There’s pressure to label GM food even though GM ingredients have never harmed anyone. Meanwhile, the level of trans fats goes undeclared despite nutritionists telling us they are known to be harmful.
Some of us would starve without a microwave oven, while others watch the iron chefs on television and try to emulate their dishes.
Some eat at fast food drive-thru restaurants while others spend fortunes in fancy establishments.
Some line up at food banks just to get basic foodstuffs, while others want only what’s exotic and trendy.
When it comes to food, society’s behaviour and attitudes often defy logic.
