Cost to put food on the table hits $271 per week for a family of four: WECHU report

A slight decrease is being reported in what it costs to put food on the table for a family of four in Windsor-Essex, but it doesn’t tell the whole story around the financial pressure families are facing.

According to the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, the weekly cost of groceries for a family of four in Windsor-Essex in 2025 is $271.83 per week or $1,181.08 per month. This is a change of -0.93% from 2024.

The report from the health unit notes while this slight decrease in food costs looks promising, food insecurity is not only about food but also the ability for households to afford food and other basic needs.

Public health nutritionist Karen Bellemore says when you take out rent and food, people are really struggling.

“In our scenarios, we only have two scenarios where, depending on if it’s a single person, a family of four, or a family of three, they actually have more than $1,000 left after considering rent and food for a month,” she says. “So, most people are under $1,000 for all other expenses that they have.”

The 2025 Real Cost of Eating Well in Windsor-Essex report finds that a family of four has a total monthly income of $2,994 but pays an estimated $1,267 in monthly rent and $1,181.08 for food, leaving just $545.92 in monthly income to cover all other expenses.

Bellemore says income is not sufficient, especially for those on Ontario Works or disability support.

“Social assistance is not keeping up with the rate of living, the cost of living, and inflation, and the more we are going along with those rates not changing, the bigger the hole... or the less money somebody has for everything else: food, medicine, their clothing, telephone, and cars,” she says.

Bellemore says rent is a fixed cost, and food prices are more flexible; however, there may not be funds leftover for groceries.

“We know when people aren’t nourishing themselves, they tend to be sicker; they’re not able to recover faster, and it really does put a lot of stress on an individual and family because we want to be able to feed ourselves. It is what we need; it is an instinct; it’s one of our basic needs, so we really are looking at can those two things be changed,” she says.

Locally, Windsor and Essex County had a 25.7 per cent household food insecurity rate between 2023 and 2024, with a 27.2 per cent rate in 2024 alone.

The 61 food items costed as part of the calculation are based on the 2019 National Nutritious Food Basket and reflect Canada’s Food Guide. Data does not include non-food items, foods that may be needed to meet cultural or religious needs, or foods to manage disease conditions, allergies, or intolerances.