Minister Rebecca Chartrand highlights the new Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit

In the recent episode of BC Food News, host Jennifer English discusses the newly announced Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, a government initiative designed to tackle food insecurity by making life more affordable for millions of Canadians. The benefit, announced by Minister Rebecca Chartrand, aims to provide support to over 12 million low- and modest-income Canadians, starting in the spring of 2026. The plan includes a one-time payment equivalent to a 50% increase in the annual 2025-26 GST Credit and a 25% rise in the benefit's value for the next five years. Other mentioned initiatives include Nutrition North Canada, Harvesters Support Grant, the Community Food Programs Fund, and a $150 million Food Security Fund for small and medium enterprises. Furthermore, the government is initiating a National Food Security Strategy, designed to tackle root causes of food insecurity and improve access to nutritious food across Canada. POST datahttps://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4607764-1&h=2385576297&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pm.gc.ca%2Fen%2Fnews%2Fnews-releases%2F2026%2F01%2F26%2Fprime-minister-carney-announces-new-measures-make-groceries-and-other&a=new+Canada+Groceries+and+Essentials+Benefithttps://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4607764-1&h=650374058&u=https%3A%2F%2Fised-isde.canada.ca%2Fsite%2Fised%2Fen%2Fprograms-and-initiatives%2Fstrategic-response-fund&a=Strategic+Response+Fundhttps://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4607764-1&h=179545201&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.canada.ca%2Fen%2Fatlantic-canada-opportunities%2Fservices%2Fregional-tariff-response-initiative%2Frtri-rda.html&a=Regional+Tariff+Response+Initiativehttps://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4607764-1&h=853813852&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pm.gc.ca%2Fen%2Fnews%2Fnews-releases%2F2026%2F01%2F26%2Fprime-minister-carney-announces-new-measures-make-groceries-and-other&a=Prime+Minister+Carney+announces+new+measures+to+make+groceries+and+other+essentials+more+affordable+for+Canadians+%7C+Prime+Minister+of+Canadahttps://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4607764-1&h=3211228633&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.canada.ca%2Fen%2Fdepartment-finance%2Fnews%2F2026%2F01%2Fthe-new-canada-groceries-and-essentials-benefit.html&a=Backgrounder%3A+The+new+Canada+Groceries+and+Essentials+Benefithttps://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4607764-1&h=3994051038&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nutritionnorthcanada.gc.ca%2Feng%2F1415385762263%2F1415385790537&a=Nutrition+North+Canadaerika.lashbrookknutson@[email protected]://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4607764-1&h=1734012109&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.harvestmanitoba.ca%2F&a=Harvest+Manitoba