Saskatchewan ranks well among provinces for food affordability: report

Saskatchewan is one of the most affordable provinces in Canada to buy food, according to a report published by the Conference Board of Canada.

The report card, prepared by researchers at the think-tank, compares each province against each other in a variety of categories.

Researchers used 63 different metrics to evaluate each province. The metrics were organized into broad categories of industry prosperity, healthy diets, food safety, household food security, and environmental sustainability.

Saskatchewan scored As in all areas, except a B for healthy diets.

1 in 3 single-parent households are food insecure

According to the report — which cites data from Statistics Canada and Food Banks Canada — Saskatchewan and Quebec are the most affordable for food.

"Residents of Saskatchewan, in comparison with the rest of Canadians, are statistically unlikely to be worried that food will run out, be hungry but unable to eat, lose weight due to hunger, or use food banks," the report states.

But such is not the case or single-parent households with kids.

"Food insecurity among single parents with children is of greatest concern in Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, with one in three households experiencing food insecurity."

It explains that food-insecure households are more focused on finding inexpensive food rather than having nutritious meals.

Sask. has prosperous food industries

Compared to other provinces, metropolitan areas in Saskatchewan had the lowest urban retail food accessibility ratio, meaning the province is home to the fewest number of grocery stores per 1,000 people.

However, Saskatchewan was the only province to score an A in the category of industry prosperity, with the report citing the profitable farm industry and strong manufacturing sector.

In terms of health, women in Saskatchewan aged 19-50 ranked low for the intake of iron — as noted elsewhere in Canada — but the report noted low obesity rates in the province.