It used to be that shoppers were drawn to the centre aisles of a grocery store when the price of fruits, vegetables and meats started to rise, but even boxed and canned processed foods are rising in price.

Assistant professor of business analytics at Cape Breton University, Dr. Stacey Taylor says even the less healthy options are no longer affordable.

“The sad thing is, the centre aisles used to be the cheaper place, it’s not necessarily cheaper anymore. So, what we’re seeing is that people are buying things more in bulk, and also more frozen to make up for the fact that there really doesn’t seem to be a cheap place in the grocery store anymore.” She says food availability and food security is one issue, but now they’re starting to see the added concern of nutritional security.