GUELPH – Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health put a human face on its annual Nutritious Food Basket report outlining the real cost of eating a healthy diet in Guelph and Wellington County.
In her presentation to the board on Dec. 3, public health nutritionist Lisa Needham described the challenges of a fictitious family of four.
John, the dad, who has a full-time minimum wage job; Mary, the mom who has a part-time minimum wage job, and their children Julia, 8 and David, 13.
They rent a three-bedroom apartment in Grand Valley. John works in Orangeville and drives a used car to get there. Sometimes he works a night shift.
Mary works 10 hours a week in Grand Valley so she can be available for childcare for Julia, as it’s too expensive to pay for childcare on her income. David goes to high school in Shelburne.
Housing is their biggest expense, and food is the next, Needham said.
Together they spend 60 per cent of their combined income on rent and food leaving 40 per cent for everything else.
As a result, they worry about everything – the car breaking down, a need for medicine or new glasses, paying for extra-curriculars and saving for retirement and their kids’ education.
Their budget is so tight, it doesn’t take much to cause them to dip into their credit card or use a payday loan service.
And like many people on a tight budget, they cut back on nutritious food because it’s so expensive.
“Food is one of the first expenses to cut back,” Needham said, noting that can cause health problems, mental health problems, and they often have to deny their kids enriching experiences.
“They access food banks sometimes but don’t always qualify,” she said of the fictitious family.
The scenario will likely resonate with many in Guelph, Dufferin and Wellington counties.
And it’s even more precarious for single-income earner households, refugee claimants, people on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and people receiving Ontario Works (OW).
After paying for rent and food, Needham’s chart shows a family of four on OW is in the hole by $108 every month; a single person on OW is $782 in the hole; and a single person on ODSW falls into arrears by $140 each month.
“Local data show that the number of OW and ODSP beneficiaries increased by as much as 14% across Wellington, Dufferin and Guelph between 2024 and 2025,” states the report.
This year’s Nutritious Food Basket tool places the cost to feed a healthy diet to a family of four at $273 per week.
The figure comes from real prices in real stores in Guelph, Dufferin and Wellington County.
Considered in tandem with the cost of housing, it’s no wonder there’s little left at the end of the month. And no wonder more and more people are accessing food banks.
According to Needham’s report, last year 26% of households in Ontario and 25% of households in this area experienced food insecurity – the highest rates on record. And in Ontario, 33% of children were food insecure in 2024.
Public health has been working with a number of local organizations to tackle poverty and food insecurity:
- Guelph and Wellington Task Force for Poverty Elimination;
- Centre Wellington Community Foundation;
- Dufferin County Equity Collaborative;
- the Ontario Dietitians in public health’s Food Insecurity Work Group; and
- Headwaters Food and Farming.
The report recommends lobbying for more government supports to alleviate the affordability crisis “such as guaranteed basic income, adequate social assistance and minimum wage rates, and reduced precarious employment conditions,” it states.
“This is important to talk about,” said Medical Officer of Health Dr. Nicola Mercer.
“These two parents (in the fictitious scenario) were working. Imagine the impact on a single-wage worker.
“This is why we want to present real-life scenarios.”
The board received the report for information.
