5 | This Week | Thursday,January6,2022 durhamregion.com What happens When your brain doesn't get enough sound? Your ears collect sound, but it's your brain that actually understands it. With hearing loss, there isn't enough sound information coming to your brain from your ears, or the quality of that information is too low. This makes it much harder for the brain to orient itself in your surroundings, and focus on what's important. That's why good hearing helps your brain stay fit throughout your life. Call today to book your no charge hearing assessment to learn about your hearing ability. *receive an in-office demo of oticon's BrainhearingtM technology. *Clinician to determine candidacy. We offer oticon's BrainhearingtM technology, which helps you to: Orient better in the full sound scene Focus more clearly on what you choose Improve your understanding of speech Reduce the effort it takes you to listen Improve your memory 1031 simcoe street north, oshawa, on. L1g 4W3 Funding Ministry of Health Assistive Devices Program, GM Green Shield, VAC,WSIB, ODSP, and MCSS funding available. receive up to $2500 off a pair of oticon's BrainhearingtM technology for a limited time. Call clinic today for details. 905-240-5055 www.deeganhearingclinic.com Proudly Family owned, local mattersPROUDLY FAMILY OWNED.LOCAL MATTERS Last year's Christmas dinner may have been the most expensive one ever. Food prices have increased sharply in recent years. So what are regular families doing to keep pace with rising cost of living? They're cutting corners such as reducing meat consumption, bargain hunting at the grocery store and purchasing cheaper alternatives to healthy fresh food. It's hard to find a four-litre bag of full fat milk for the kids for less than $5, and some non-organic brands cost more than $6. Some shoppers may have noticed that portions of packaged products are getting smaller but staying the same price or increasing. Data released in November by Statistics Canada shows grocery bills have risen 3.9 per cent in the past year, with some major staples such as meat showing the biggest increases, according to the consumer price index. A prime rib roast now costs 27.5 per cent more than last year. Although that may be a luxury for some families, the price of a staple such as frozen beef also rose 14 per cent. And it's about to get worse. Released in early December, and prepared by four Canadian universities, Canada's Food Price Report predicts a five-to-seven per cent increase in food prices in 2022, higher than the three-to-five per cent predicted for 2021. The cost of dairy is predicted to rise six-to-eight per cent this year, while vegetables will likely cost five-to- seven per cent more. The report predicts that a family of four's annual food bill will rise by $966 annually to $14,767 for the year, including restaurant spending. Some of the reasons for the predicted rise are energy costs, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain problems. "The fragility of global supply lines for many products, including food, came to the forefront in 2021," the report stated. "There were major disruptions, delays and reduced capacity, especially in maritime transport as congestion of cargo ships was apparent at both Canadian and U.S. ports. For example, in Vancouver during September and October, port operators struggled with delayed cargo arrivals, high volumes of imports and a reduced trucking capacity moving out of the port. "These challenges have resulted in concerns for Canadian supply chain in general, but also the food supply chain and food prices as many food imports come to Canada by container ships." Durham residents who feel food prices are rising faster than wages are not imagining it. A typical grocery bill rose by 70 per cent between 2000 and 2020. More recently, between 2015 and 2019, the median income for Canadians rose by 6.6 per cent, while food expenditures rose 16.3 per cent. Couple that with rising housing costs, for both rent and home ownership, in that same period, and it's created incredible pressure on families. Rent, heat, hydro and water are fixed costs for families. Efforts to reduce consumption of utilities can produce only nominal savings at times, or none at all. So where can people save money? What is there to cut in budgets? Food, clothing, home goods? Perhaps Christmas was a bit simpler, Santa a little less generous. And this month, when the bills come due, the conversations around kitchen tables get that much harder. For families struggling to make ends meet, it means more trips to local food banks and praying that agencies such as Feed the Need in Durham can continue to meet growing demand. But when families have to worry about their own costs, it's going to be that much harder to spare extra for others in need. Reka Szekely has been covering municipal issues in Durham Region since 2007. Her column appears regularly in this space. JANUARY BILLS WILL BE REAL STRAIN FOR FAMILIES OPINION WITH RISING FOOD PRICES, PERHAPS CHRISTMAS DINNER WAS A BIT SIMPLER, SANTA A LITTLE LESS GENEROUS, WRITES REKA SZEKELY REKA SZEKELY Column Food prices are expected to increase by up to seven per cent in 2022. Rene Johnston/Toronto Star