A new wave of discount grocery stores is sweeping Quebec, selling food items near or past their best before dates at steep reductions to ease the pinch on shoppers' wallets, according to a recent CBC report.
The outlets, gaining momentum in the province, promise cheaper prices by repurposing items still safe to eat, as "best before" labels indicate quality, not safety, say experts.
CBC's Gabriel Guinty highlighted how the stores are helping some consumers amid Canada's affordability crunch.
"Business is booming," he said. "This type of store and the products they sell at a cheaper price are clearly in demand."
The initiative grows as food costs spiral, exacerbating a national crisis.
Canada’s Food Price Report 2025 forecasts overall food prices will rise 3 % to 5 % next year, with the average family of four spending $16,833.67 on food—an increase of $801.56 from 2024. Analysts attribute the rise to persistent inflation and higher input costs across supply chains.
Food insecurity is worsening. In 2023, 22.9 % of people in the ten provinces—roughly 8.7 million Canadians—lived in food-insecure households, according to researchers at the University of Toronto’s PROOF Lab, based on Statistics Canada data.
Demand for aid has shattered records. Food Banks Canada’s HungerCount 2025 reported nearly 2.2 million visits in March 2025 alone—a 5 % increase from 2024 and almost double 2019 levels.
Meanwhile, 333,000 Canadians moved between provinces in 2023—one of the highest annual totals on record—as affordability and employment gaps between regions widened.
Working households now comprise a signifiant number of food bank clients as inflation erodes purchasing power.