Budgeting and Food Inequity within Canada

Junior (Age 9 – 12)

Curriculum Goal

Junior: Number

Represent and solve problems involving the addition and subtraction of whole numbers and decimal numbers, using estimation and algorithms.

Junior: Data

Collect data from different primary and secondary sources to answer questions of interest that involve comparing two or more sets of data.
Display the data in the graphs with proper sources, titles, and labels, and appropriate scales; and justify their choice of graphs.
Analyze different sets of data presented in various ways by asking and answering questions and drawing conclusions about the data
Make convincing arguments and informed decisions.

Junior: Financial Literacy

Estimate and calculate the cost of transactions involving multiple items priced in dollars and cents, including sales tax, using various strategies.

Students should be familiar with money notation, computation, and foundational graphs (e.g., bar graphs).

Inform students they have $20 to buy ingredients to make dinner for their family. Provide students with flyers from local grocery stores.
Have students repeat the activity using a flyer for a grocer that caters to a different demographic, but also somewhat local. It is important that the two stores have differing prices.
Engage students in discussion about why price differences exist; consider topics of immigration, socioeconomic status/poverty, etc.
Have students locate the grocery stores on Google Maps. Ask what they notice regarding the locations of the stores.
Introduce students to the cost of food in Nunavut, which is significantly higher than elsewhere in Canada. The video provides a good overview of the cost disparity.
Have students compare the price of specific grocery items (i.e., cereal, milk, bananas, etc.) between their local stores and the grocery stores in Nunavut.
- Have students graph these costs so that the differences are visible.
Discuss the underlying causes of the drastic cost differences between Northern and Southern Canada.

Can students identify reasons why the cost of items differ between the two grocery options?
Do students consider economic reasons for the price difference?
Do students consider socioeconomic reasons for the price difference?
When students graph the data, are they able to identify patterns in the price difference of items?
Do students attempt to come up with ways to bring the cost of groceries down in Northern Canada?