Grocery Stores' Theft Crisis: Food Insecurity & Profits

0:00Grocery stores across Canada are wrapping up surveillance like body cameras on staff and hiring special duty cops, all to fight a surge in death-dad, self-checkouts. Retailers call it a national crisis, with shrink rates hitting 1.5% in 2024, double from 2019. Places like Fresh Co in Toronto and Superstore in Calgary are leading the charge against organized crime targeting high-end meats. These stats back it up. Toronto saw shoplifting over $5,000 jump from 32 cases in 2020 to 105 last year, while Winnipeg reported a 46% rise. Chains like Superstore dropped over $12 million in 5 years on police patrols, and Walmart shelled out 1.4 million in Winnipeg, alone since 2022. But this heavy policing ignores the real pain, food insecurity growing despite Canada's huge economy and global food surplus. Workers earn minimum wage, $18.15 federally, but just 15 in Alberta, barely covering a 10

1:04ounce stake as price is climb. Three to 5% yearly, especially meats, with fuel hikes from global tensions making it worse. Meanwhile, the big five grocers, low-blah, sobes, metro, Costco, Walmart control, 80% of the market, and rake in massive profits. Low-blah stock triple post-pandemic, earnings of 11.6% in 2025, even after a $500 million bread. Price-fixing payout. Self-checkouts and ways from picky standards aren't helping. It's time to push farmers markets, community farms, and public stores that treat food. Like a right, not a profit shield. Local news, powered by AI. This is Vancouver News today.