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CFA’s Food Freedom Day and appreciating Canadian farmers

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) has calculated that by Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020, a Canadian household of average income will have earned enough to pay their entire year’s grocery bill.

Each year, CFA examines the proportion of income that Canadians spend on food as a way to explore year-over-year expenditure changes and raise consumers’ understanding of Canada’s food system, from farmgate-to-plate.

Canadians spent 10.9 per cent of their disposable income on food in 2019, which is slightly lower than the 11 per cent spent in 2018. While prices for some foods are set to increase in 2020, these increases have occurred alongside slightly larger increases in disposable income. As a result, this year’s Food Freedom Day falls one day before last year’s date, which was February 9th.

Farmers only receive a small percentage of the price that consumers pay for food, particularly when production costs are considered. Canadian farmers continue to adapt to widely varying costs for inputs, such as fuel and fertilizer, and to balance their plans against uncertainties in the marketplace.

Food Freedom Day demonstrates the value that Canadian farmers deliver to all Canadians – not only through quality food, but by supporting one in eight jobs, which in turn translates into vital economic contributions to our rural communities.

The future of farming, consumer expectations, the environment and other related issues will take centre stage later this month, when CFA hosts its 2020 annual general meeting (AGM), the theme of which is “Producing Prosperity for the Next Decade.” The AGM will be hosted in Ottawa from February 25 to 26.

For information on how CFA calculates the date of Food Freedom Day, click here.