Food insecurity | The middle class increasingly affected

More and more Quebecers who work and have a good income are struggling to fill their fridge or are worried about not being able to eat well. There are more people belonging to the “middle class” who suffer from food insecurity, according to the Quebec Observatory of Inequalities. Explanations.

While the rate of food insecurity is generally increasing in Quebec, it is among the middle class that the increase is greatest. How to explain this?

“In 2022, it was the record year for inflation in Quebec,” says economist Geoffroy Boucher, of the Quebec Observatory of Inequalities. The price index for food purchased in stores, at the end of 2022, reached 12% variation over 12 months. »

Between 2019 and 2022, the level of food insecurity in this group increased from 7.8% to 17.4%, an increase of 122%.

“Yes, the middle class has more financial resources than the more disadvantaged classes,” continues Geoffroy Boucher, “but it also has a lot of obligations. Including mortgage payments, car payments, kids’ tuition. That leaves little room for maneuver. »

The data comes from the Canadian Income Survey which, since 2018, has included a component on food insecurity. The latest available edition of the survey dates from 2022. The Observatory asked Statistics Canada to carry out additional cross-referencing.

“Certain elements lit red lights for us when reading the data and we wanted to push the analysis a little further. » Including the situation of the middle class.

How did you define the middle class?

“There are different approaches for the middle class, including sociological approaches,” says Geoffroy Boucher, “but if we go with an economic approach, we are often interested in a certain interval around the median income. We looked at the center of the distribution, the third quintile, and it is exactly this third quintile that experienced the highest increase in food insecurity. »

In 2022, 240,000 people in this middle class were in a situation of food insecurity in Quebec, including approximately 50,000 in a situation of severe food insecurity.

What is the definition of severe food insecurity?

There are three “phases” of food insecurity. When it is marginal or slight, it is “uncertainty about the ability to obtain food or not having a sufficiently varied diet”. It is when the quantity or quality of food is at stake that we speak of a moderate level — it is in this situation that the majority of Quebecers who suffer from food insecurity find themselves.

If the situation deteriorates and it is no longer possible to obtain sufficient food, we speak of severe food insecurity.

Did this new data regarding the middle class surprise you?

“No,” replies Geoffroy Boucher, “because on the ground, for several years, community organizations have been raising their hands to say that the situation is getting worse, and this is very clear in the reports of these organizations, notably in the latest Hunger Report of the Quebec food banks, that there are more and more people who have jobs who find themselves in food banks. »

How are all Quebecers doing?

The increase in food insecurity affects the entire population. The same analysis shows that the rate increased from 10.5% in 2019 to 14.9% in 2022. In 2022, more than a million people aged 15 and over were in a situation of food insecurity in Quebec, including approximately 200,000 experiencing severe food insecurity.

“It’s alarming in a society as rich and prosperous as Quebec,” said Geoffroy Boucher.