More people turning to non-profit grocery store as food costs surge

More customers have been shopping the shelves of Vancouver's Quest grocery store.

The non-profit store offers a shopping experience to those with low incomes, providing healthy and affordable food.

According to a survey conducted by Quest, more than 50 per cent of their customers make less than $24,000 per year.

Statistics Canada says British Columbians who are living on the poverty line – earning roughly $40,000 per year – spend 40 per cent of their total income on groceries.

Quest’s goal is to lessen the sticker shock impact, but it says more people are turning to its services.

"A Quest client can come in on any given day and see prices that are 50 to 70 per cent less than what they would find on a traditional grocery store shelf,” said Theodora Lamb, the executive director of Quest Outreach Society.

The store has seen an uptick in customers, with upwards of 150 new clients referred to their services each day. Lamb said.

Meat, dairy and produce have been the items in highest demand, reflecting how expensive those products have become.

Matt Lottridge has been going to Quest for more than 5 years.

"I guarantee that my bank account would not look as good as it does now if I wasn't at a place like this,” he said, while getting groceries.

He’s one of more than 3,000 customers per week who shops at Quest.

Wendy Eistetter works the till at the location on Hastings Street. She says she sees families come through the door all the time, but she really sees how seniors have been impacted by the cost of living.

"They can't afford groceries on their income, on their pensions, they don’t have much left,” she said.

Joanna Fletcher says she relies on Quest to feed herself and her daughter.

"If I didn't have this place to come to, I'd be a lot more strapped for cash, generally,” said Fletcher. "I must have saved thousands of dollars. I have been coming here for years."

Quest says it would like to see a food security strategy from the province, as it expects to continue to see the demand for cheaper food grow.