Policy Brief: Time to regulate food prices like a utility

Toronto, ON M5A 2E7 wellesleyinstitute.com Time to regulate food prices like a utility Executive Summary Access to affordable, healthy food is a health equity issue and immediate action is needed to improve health, health equity and affordability in Canada. [...] Wellesley Institute recommends the “ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE, Government of Canada set a price for a basket HEALTHY FOOD IS A of nutritious food at a level which every HEALTH EQUITY ISSUE.” household can afford and require grocers to make that basket available, at that price or below, in every region of the country. [...] This brief provides recommendations to the Government of Canada to address rising food insecurity and to take steps to ensure that food is treated like a utility. [...] Advocates for food PRICES LIKE A UTILITY security shifted their focus to income security, reasoning that, through increases to welfare programs, individuals and families would have more disposable income to afford the food they need to be healthy. [...] Time to regulate food prices like a utility 4 Grocers would also be required to ensure reasonable availability of the items in the basket6,7 and be subject to meaningful, esc.