Victoria indicatorsCost of a nutritious diet, family of four
$1,386 a month
No target expected. This is a context measure. A cost of food at local stores, like prices. No government here sets it. Targets and comparisons
This is the first figure shown in this series, so there is no change to report yet. No direction label is shown until a second one is published.
Source: BC Centre for Disease Control. We read it on Nov 12, 2026.
Over time
Targets and comparisons
Context measure: no target expected
Context measure: no target expected. A cost of food at local stores, like prices. No government here sets it.
Show the numbers as a table
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| 2022 | $1,386 |
Who decides
Bank of Canada. Sets and publishes the minimum rate at which it lends, as part of its job to regulate credit and currency. Bank of Canada Act, s. 21
Show the 1 other body and the laws
| Body | What it decides | Law or bylaw | Last decision | Next decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of Canada | Sets and publishes the minimum rate at which it lends, as part of its job to regulate credit and currency. | Bank of Canada Act, s. 21 Bank of Canada Act, preamble | Rate set at 2.50% on October 28, 2026 | Next scheduled announcement December 9, 2026 |
| Government of Canada and Parliament | If the Minister of Finance and the Bank disagree on monetary policy, the Minister can give the Bank a written directive, with Cabinet approval. | Bank of Canada Act, s. 14 |
No government decides this directly. Grocery prices are set by stores and suppliers.
Canada: last general election April 28, 2025; next set for October 15, 2029 unless called earlier (Canada Elections Act, s. 56.1).
Each row says what a body decides and links to the law, order or bylaw that gives it that role. It does not say who caused a change: markets, households and other governments also move these numbers. Who decides what, for every measure · How we choose
What this number does not show
- From the BC Centre for Disease Control’s Food Costing in BC report: the cost of the National Nutritious Food Basket (61 foods) for a reference family of two adults and two children, priced in a sample of grocery stores in May-June 2022.
One more limit
- This is the latest edition (2022). The BCCDC normally reports every two years; no later edition has been published, so the figure is old and prices have risen since. For a yearly figure, see the food part of the cost of a basic standard of living.
Not measured yet in cost of living: rent in basement suites, rented condos and houses. See all 18 gaps
In plain words
What a nutritious food basket cost each month for a family of four at grocery stores in the South Vancouver Island health area, from the BC Centre for Disease Control’s latest food costing report (2022).
How we decide “No label yet”
There is no earlier figure in the same series to compare with yet. A direction label needs at least two comparable periods, so none is shown until a second one is published.
$1,386 a month in May-June 2022 (16 stores sampled). Island Health $1,366; B.C. $1,263.
Outcome measures read Better, Worse or About the same; published government targets read Ahead of, On or Behind target; value-judgement measures read Rising, Falling or Steady in a neutral colour. A change smaller than the agency's own margin of error, or otherwise smaller than 5% of the earlier value, is About the same (or Steady). No change is calculated across a marked break in a series. The rule.
All notes on this number
Why it matters. Food is a large and unavoidable cost. It is shown for context, without a better or worse label.
- From the BC Centre for Disease Control’s Food Costing in BC report: the cost of the National Nutritious Food Basket (61 foods) for a reference family of two adults and two children, priced in a sample of grocery stores in May-June 2022.
- This is the latest edition (2022). The BCCDC normally reports every two years; no later edition has been published, so the figure is old and prices have risen since. For a yearly figure, see the food part of the cost of a basic standard of living.
- The basket was updated for this edition, so it is not compared with earlier editions.
- It is a cost, not a measure of who cannot afford it. Statistics Canada publishes household food insecurity for B.C. only, not for Greater Victoria.
Which places
Area: South Vancouver Island
The Province’s South Vancouver Island health service delivery area, one of three in Island Health.
Included
- The Greater Victoria, Western Communities, Saanich Peninsula and Southern Gulf Islands local health areas (the Province’s local health area boundaries)
Not included
- Central and North Vancouver Island (the other Island Health service delivery areas)
- Deaths are counted by where the drugs were used, not where the person lived
Official definition
Shown for comparison
- Comparison area: Vancouver Island (Island Health) Island Health’s whole service area: Vancouver Island and surrounding communities, not only Greater Victoria.
- Comparison area: All of B.C. The whole province of British Columbia.
How the agency describes it: South Vancouver Island health service delivery area.
How we got it
This number is published by the agency as shown; it is not calculated here. The script reads it from the agency’s own document and refuses to show it unless the expected text is found.
Licence and credits
This figure is public but not under an open licence: the agency publishes it for anyone to read, and it is shown here with credit and a link to the agency’s terms. About licences.
- Licence
- Public data, not under an open licence. Used with attribution. Agency’s terms of use
- Updated by agency
- Irregular (BCCDC Food Costing in BC; latest edition 2022); latest release Mar 16, 2023
- Retrieved
- Nov 12, 2026, 10:30 PM B.C. time
Source: BC Centre for Disease Control, Food Costing in BC 2022. Public document, used with attribution; not endorsed by the publisher.
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