Loblaw freezes prices on No Name products as consumers struggle with rising cost of living

Canadian grocery giant Loblaw announced a roughly three-month price freeze on its No Name products in response to consumers rethinking their buying habits.

The freeze will last until January and impacts roughly 1,500 products, including many food and home staples.

According to the most recent consumer price index numbers from Statistics Canada, food costs were up 9.8 per cent from one year ago in August.

September's inflation rate is scheduled to be released Wednesday.

The freeze provides certainty on some products, but anti-poverty advocates say as many as 1.4 million Canadian children are living in homes with “inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints.”

Amber Cannon with Poverty Talks says struggling to get by can affect every aspect of a person's life.

“It means constantly thinking about food, not being able to focus on anything else, not being able to be with your family because you're hungry and all you're thinking about is where you're going to get your next meal,” said Cannon.

“You don't feel good about yourself because you're limited to what you're able to do, so you're not able explore yourself and your self esteem is lowered.”

Many fixed incomes have not been adjusted to reflect rising costs of living, says Meaghon Reid, executive director of Vibrant Communities Calgary.

“Right now, in this economy, food is the first thing to go before rent, before heat and before transportation to work or school,” said Reid.

Loblaw operates Loblaws grocery stores, as well as Real Canadian Superstore and No Frills in Alberta.

The company said no one was available for an interview on the decision but offered the following statement:

“Food inflation has held on longer than people anticipated. As we’re going into the biggest buying period of the year, we’ve heard people talking about having to change buying habits, and we thought about what we could do,” the statement reads.

“As a brand already known for value, with an assortment of more than 1,500 products, we believed this would be meaningful.”