[zang]

I don't blame people for wanting to socialize. But being "tired" is just not a valid reason. If another lockdown is needed in the future, then it should happen. Nature doesn't care about our COVID fatigue.

Limitations on indoor dining and events could probably be re-established (the resto industry is about to enter its dead time of year anyhow from New Years Day to Valentine's Day), but beyond that, it's really the lax enforcement that's the likely culprit. Getting a donut for my daughter yesterday I saw a woman and (I assume) her mother walk in to a Tim Horton's, sit down and immediately take off their masks. The woman got up to go to the cash to get something and only put a mask on when the cashier noted it. The cashier handed her her food and told her "you need to show you're vaccinated to dine in" to which the woman nodded with an eye-roll, showed her absolutely nothing and then went back to sit down unmasked with her mother.

The Covidiots and Anti-Vaxxers will continue to take advantage of anything they can. Whether it's proclaiming some absurd exemption, claiming a vaccine is "medical history" or going into restaurants assuming that Vax checks won't be thorough, they're going to justify their assholery as "freedom" and keep doing it until someone stops them. And right now, we have a government that doesn't care much about actually stopping them.

 

[Jonny5]

Cost to feed a family of four will hit nearly $15,000 next year as ‘perfect storm’ strikes food prices

Food prices to rise even faster in 2022, a side effect of a “disastrous” year.

www.thestar.com

$15,000 to feed a family of four? I have a wife, two teenagers, two cats, and a dog and outside of Christmas our grocery bill has never come close to $1,250 a month. We buy our groceries at Costco and No Frills. It helps that one kid is a vegetarian and we rarely buy fresh meats.

Ya, these reports always seem based on a made up "average family" menu that is eaten weekly and never changes, and that set menu is usually way out of step with what most Canadians actually eat, like it was decided on in 1972 and has never changed, and never has flexibility to shop for what is currently on sale. If you eat beef, you can never choose pork or chicken, you must have beef!
We all have a beef pot roast and potatoes every Sunday, with a tall glass of milk and dinner rolls. Zero exceptions.
Breakfast? Eggs and bacon, every day, with toast and orange juice! Zero exceptions. That's how everyone in Canada eats every single day.

 

[zang]

Ya, these reports always seem based on a made up "average family" menu that is eaten weekly and never changes, and that set menu is usually way out of step with what most Canadians actually eat, like it was decided on in 1972 and has never changed, and never has flexibility to shop for what is currently on sale. If you eat beef, you can never choose pork or chicken, you must have beef!
We all have a beef pot roast and potatoes every Sunday, with a tall glass of milk and dinner rolls. Zero exceptions.
Breakfast? Eggs and bacon, every day, with toast and orange juice! Zero exceptions. That's how everyone in Canada eats every single day.

As far as I know, it's all based on the CPI and Census data. So if it's assuming we all have a beef pot roast and potatoes and don't seek out sales, it's because that's what the average is claimed on the census.

The fact is though, not everyone is able to eat cheaply. Some of that is very much dependent on location. And I know I've mentioned it on UT before (and some here seem to reject this idea), but it is a fact that it's more expensive to buy food if you're poor. Living paycheque to paycheque, many can't take advantage of buying in bulk or waiting for sales. Dollar & discount stores take advantage of that with small portions for cheap that are really more expensive by volume. That ultimately compounds.

 

[lenaitch]

Limitations on indoor dining and events could probably be re-established (the resto industry is about to enter its dead time of year anyhow from New Years Day to Valentine's Day), but beyond that, it's really the lax enforcement that's the likely culprit. Getting a donut for my daughter yesterday I saw a woman and (I assume) her mother walk in to a Tim Horton's, sit down and immediately take off their masks. The woman got up to go to the cash to get something and only put a mask on when the cashier noted it. The cashier handed her her food and told her "you need to show you're vaccinated to dine in" to which the woman nodded with an eye-roll, showed her absolutely nothing and then went back to sit down unmasked with her mother.

The Covidiots and Anti-Vaxxers will continue to take advantage of anything they can. Whether it's proclaiming some absurd exemption, claiming a vaccine is "medical history" or going into restaurants assuming that Vax checks won't be thorough, they're going to justify their assholery as "freedom" and keep doing it until someone stops them. And right now, we have a government that doesn't care much about actually stopping them.

A lot of retailers/restaurants have simply given up being 'the bad guy' beyond a basic mentioning of the rule. They have neither the time, staff or will to get into a battle of wits with someone who wants to make a point. No doubt corporate chains have an established policy of non-confrontation or denial of service, and I frankly don't blame them. On the other hand, at the mom-and-pop where I go for our weekly old-farts breakfast, with the same staff who know us by name, it's proof and ID every time.

As far as I know, it's all based on the CPI and Census data. So if it's assuming we all have a beef pot roast and potatoes and don't seek out sales, it's because that's what the average is claimed on the census.

The fact is though, not everyone is able to eat cheaply. Some of that is very much dependent on location. And I know I've mentioned it on UT before (and some here seem to reject this idea), but it is a fact that it's more expensive to buy food if you're poor. Living paycheque to paycheque, many can't take advantage of buying in bulk or waiting for sales. Dollar & discount stores take advantage of that with small portions for cheap that are really more expensive by volume. That ultimately compounds.

I get that statisticians and bureaucrats need a benchmark, but coming up with one for a country this size probably makes it irrelevant to most people. On the other hand, if prices go up x% across the board and one's diet is a typical mix of categories, it's probably fairly relative to whatever you spend, notwithstanding that the raw number they report isn't.

 

[Bayer]

Cost to feed a family of four will hit nearly $15,000 next year as ‘perfect storm’ strikes food prices

Food prices to rise even faster in 2022, a side effect of a “disastrous” year.

www.thestar.com

$15,000 to feed a family of four? I have a wife, two teenagers, two cats, and a dog and outside of Christmas our grocery bill has never come close to $1,250 a month. We buy our groceries at Costco and No Frills. It helps that one kid is a vegetarian and we rarely buy fresh meats.

I'm close to that but it's just me and my husband! I think I'm still in the mood I was in 1986, fresh out of university in Québec City, earning a measly $1,200 a month at my first job and telling myself, "'As God is my witness, I won't buy a can of no-name tomatoes ever again"!

 

[Admiral Beez]

Now that the kids are away in university I can look at my own consumption in isolation.

Here’s a typical day’s ration for myself….

7am, large coffee. Kicking Horse, Half Ass. Whole Bean, 454g costs $13. I grind about 10g each AM and run it through my Keurig using the K-cup rather than pods. I have never bought pods, since their a waste of money and bad for the planet. Cost of coffee about $0.30

11am, breakfast, always one $0.10 fish oil capsule and one $0.30 probiotic capsule. Plus one of the following:
- 35g of Vega Protein and Greens shake, plus 350 ml of 1% milk, a little of tumeric. $1.40 for 35ml of the shake, plus $0.65 for milk, total $2.05 + $0.40 supplements = $2.45 breakfast
- 2 x Whole wheat toast, margarine and either marmite, marmalade or jam. Glass of milk. This is probably the priciest option, I’ll estimate it‘s about $3.
- Bowl of Quaker Oats oatmeal with milk and fresh blue berries. The berries are pricey, but I might use all of a dozen tops. The oatmeal is dirt cheap. Estimated total cost under $3.
So at the most expensive my breakfast is about $3.50.

2pm, midday $0.30 coffee and a snack. One banana or apple, maybe a slice of luncheon meat. We’ll call that $1.70

6pm, dinner. Usually something like frozen chicken or sausages sliced and fried in the wok, or frozen fish baked in the oven with a little olive oil and seasoning, with frozen veg (we like brussel sprouts, broccoli ) tossed into the wok near the end, plus pasta or steamed whole grain rice and added seasoning. All bought at Costco or No Frills in bulk. This must be the most expensive meal of the day, I’d estimate one serving to be about $7. Plus $3 for my one London Pride beer or glass of wine (I never pay more than $10 a bottle). So dinner is max $10, more likely $7 as I’m only have wine or beer perhaps three or four times a month.

7pm, Murchies Tea and biscuits watching TV with wife. $40 for 16oz bag of tea. Perhaps $0.20 a cup, plus $0.80 for biscuits. Total $1

That‘s it. $0.30 + $3.50 + $1.70 + $10 + $1 = $16.50 per day total ration cost for me. Annual cost $,6,022. Times four would be over $24,000. So, @Jonny5 maybe the $15,000 annual cost in the link above is a little low?

 

[tiffer24]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1469319672587821062

 

[picard102]

I believe seatbelts and crash zones work, but it doesn't mean throw all caution to the wind when it's freezing rain.

If you really believe that a vaccine that saves your life from a virus is the same as driving in freezing rain, then ya, I guess I'd be concerned about going outside as well.

 

[zang]

A lot of retailers/restaurants have simply given up being 'the bad guy' beyond a basic mentioning of the rule. They have neither the time, staff or will to get into a battle of wits with someone who wants to make a point. No doubt corporate chains have an established policy of non-confrontation or denial of service, and I frankly don't blame them. On the other hand, at the mom-and-pop where I go for our weekly old-farts breakfast, with the same staff who know us by name, it's proof and ID every time.

There are widely known anti-vax places out there that have been reported hundreds of times and not yet served with a single fine, let alone loss of license, changing of locks, etc.

See Tacos El Asador, which even got an article in BlogTO *in September* about it.

Beloved Toronto taco joint under fire for alleged anti-vax passport stance

There has been a wave of Toronto businesses taking a vocal stance against the province's proof-of-vaccination mandate, and a popular spot for tacos o…

www.blogto.com

 

[zang]

If you really believe that a vaccine that saves your life from a virus is the same as driving in freezing rain, then ya, I guess I'd be concerned about going outside as well.

OH FFS. Cut the pedantic contrarianism, will ya?

 

[vic]

Now that the kids are away in university I can look at my own consumption in isolation.

Here’s a typical day’s ration for myself….

7am, large coffee. Kicking Horse, Half Ass. Whole Bean, 454g costs $13. I grind about 10g each AM and run it through my Keurig using the K-cup rather than pods. I have never bought pods, since their a waste of money and bad for the planet. Cost of coffee about $0.30

11am, breakfast, always one $0.10 fish oil capsule and one $0.30 probiotic capsule. Plus one of the following:
- 35g of Vega Protein and Greens shake, plus 350 ml of 1% milk, a little of tumeric. $1.40 for 35ml of the shake, plus $0.65 for milk, total $2.05 + $0.40 supplements = $2.45 breakfast
- 2 x Whole wheat toast, margarine and either marmite, marmalade or jam. Glass of milk. This is probably the priciest option, I’ll estimate it‘s about $3.
- Bowl of Quaker Oats oatmeal with milk and fresh blue berries. The berries are pricey, but I might use all of a dozen tops. The oatmeal is dirt cheap. Estimated total cost under $3.
So at the most expensive my breakfast is about $3.50.

2pm, midday $0.30 coffee and a snack. One banana or apple, maybe a slice of luncheon meat. We’ll call that $1.70

6pm, dinner. Usually something like frozen chicken or sausages sliced and fried in the wok, or frozen fish baked in the oven with a little olive oil and seasoning, with frozen veg (we like brussel sprouts, broccoli ) tossed into the wok near the end, plus pasta or steamed whole grain rice and added seasoning. All bought at Costco or No Frills in bulk. This must be the most expensive meal of the day, I’d estimate one serving to be about $7. Plus $3 for my one London Pride beer or glass of wine (I never pay more than $10 a bottle). So dinner is max $10, more likely $7 as I’m only have wine or beer perhaps three or four times a month.

7pm, Murchies Tea and biscuits watching TV with wife. $40 for 16oz bag of tea. Perhaps $0.20 a cup, plus $0.80 for biscuits. Total $1

That‘s it. $0.30 + $3.50 + $1.70 + $10 + $1 = $16.50 per day total ration cost for me. Annual cost $,6,022. Times four would be over $24,000. So, @Jonny5 maybe the $15,000 annual cost in the link above is a little low?

Too much work to figure out the costs per meal.... But for our family of three, we spend about $300 weekly on groceries, though that can fluctuate up or down depending on what we're buying that week. But $300 x 52 weeks = $15600 for a family of three.

We also order out about once/week, and I get the occasional lunch out (more often in the pre-covid not WFH days). And I buy some beer, but I don't lump that cost in with groceries.

I could probably save a bunch of the cost of groceries if I put more effort into it.

Your late breakfast and minimal lunch is making me hungry just thinking about it.

 

[tiffer24]

A new report from the United Nations suggests that the average Canadian wastes 79 kilograms of food at home per year.

According to the report, about 61 per cent of the food waste happens in households, while the food service industry and retailers account for the remainder.

The report, released on Thursday from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), estimates that humans worldwide waste about 17 per cent of food that’s produced, measuring more than 930 million tonnes.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/climate-and-...f-food-per-year-un-report-estimates-1.5333468

 

[DSCToronto]

Maybe we can get this tread back on topic? UTer's diets and how much food is wasted is (perhaps!) interesting but really not here.

 

[PinkLucy]

Maybe we can get this tread back on topic? UTer's diets and how much food is wasted is (perhaps!) interesting but really not here.

Thanks, you beat me to it

 

[Towered]

Limitations on indoor dining and events could probably be re-established (the resto industry is about to enter its dead time of year anyhow from New Years Day to Valentine's Day), but beyond that, it's really the lax enforcement that's the likely culprit. Getting a donut for my daughter yesterday I saw a woman and (I assume) her mother walk in to a Tim Horton's, sit down and immediately take off their masks. The woman got up to go to the cash to get something and only put a mask on when the cashier noted it. The cashier handed her her food and told her "you need to show you're vaccinated to dine in" to which the woman nodded with an eye-roll, showed her absolutely nothing and then went back to sit down unmasked with her mother.

And what are the consequences for this objectionable behaviour? I certainly wouldn't expect the counter staff at a fast food chain to protest or put up a fuss. They're not paid enough to deal with that bullshit. That's where store managers need to step up.