News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2004

(OTTAWA) - As of this Saturday, the average Canadian has earned enough income to pay his or her grocery bill for the entire year. It's Food Freedom Day!

'When you are out this weekend buying your groceries, remember that you are getting some of the highest quality, safest and most affordable food in the world thanks to our Canadian farmers,' said Bob Friesen, President of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA).

'Not only do Canadians benefit from a wide selection of fresh foods throughout the year but we don't even have to give a second though to its safety. That is a given. Think about this: Canadians will be working for many more months to pay off what they owe in taxes. But as of this weekend they have made enough money to buy all their food for a year,' added Mr. David Wilkes, Senior Vice President of the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors. 'Canadians benefit from one of the highest quality, widest variety, lowest cost, safest food distribution industries in the world, that is something to celebrate!' , added Wilkes.

According to Statistics Canada data, in 2002 the average per-capita income was $28,558. The average per-capita expenditure on food and non-alcoholic beverages for 2002 was $3,001. The two numbers together tell us that as a national average, Canadians spent 10.51 per cent of their total income on food in 2002. On February 7, 10.5 per cent of the year has gone by and Canadians have earned enough to pay for the entire year's food bill.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) tracks the percentage of household expenditures spent on food and non-alcoholic beverages. Canadians spend about 10 per cent of their overall household expenditures on food and non-alcoholic beverages. By comparison, 10.5 per cent of household expenditures in Australia go to food, 14.4 per cent in France, in Japan 14.7 per cent and in Mexico 23.9 per cent.

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Founded in 1935 to provide Canada's farmers with a single voice in Ottawa, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is the country's largest farmers' organization. Its members include provincial general farm organizations as well as national and inter-provincial commodity organizations from every province. Through its members, CFA represents over 200,000 Canadian farmers and farm families.

The Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors is the leading association representing the grocery and foodservice distribution industry. The Grocery Distribution Industry is Canada's second largest sector with sales over $63 billion and over 500,000 employees. CCGD members include large and small retail and wholesale operations, foodservice distributors and allied members that provide products and service to the industry.