I have been living with diabetes for almost 10 years now. I manage it well, with medication, diet and exercise – thanks in large part to the privileges I hold.
Like many others who have walked this path, I didn’t fully appreciate the costs people living with diabetes would be expected to bear out-of-pocket until I experienced it personally.
Most people know about expenses associated with testing supplies and medications needed to manage how the body processes insulin. But what may surprise many newly diagnosed with diabetes are the significantly increased costs for the household food budget.
Managing diabetes successfully requires a change in eating habits, yet the food recommended for diabetes management – whole foods, higher fibre, lower sodium – costs more.
Food costs have been rising steadily for everyone, and the price of food is almost 27 per cent higher than just five years ago. Grocery inflation has surpassed overall inflation for 16 straight months.
More Canadians are buying their groceries on credit, not for points, but to delay payment. According to Hunger Count 2025, visits to food banks in Canada have doubled since 2019, with 2.2 million visits in a single month recorded in 2025. Food banks have also seen a change in their clients: today nearly one in five food bank clients are employed compared to one in 10 in 2019.
Food insecurity is connected to a higher risk of developing diabetes and with poor management of existing diabetes. Research shows food costs can also directly contribute to the onset of type 2 diabetes. Food insecurity pushes lower income families to buy cheaper, blood-sugar spiking options and skip meals, neither of which helps with diabetes management.
This is not just a niche problem. About 10 per cent of our population live with diagnosed diabetes.
The impact of untreated or poorly managed diabetes on the health system itself is significant, given the costs of associated chronic diseases such as cardiac disease, high blood pressure, diminished kidney function and diabetic retinopathy (which impacts eyesight), to name but a few.
Public Health Ontario in its 2025 food affordability report is unequivocal about the negative impact food insecurity has on health. It says adults living with food insecurity are more likely to experience chronic conditions like diabetes than those who do not, even when the researchers adjusted for income, education and race/ethnicity.
Research also shows that annual health care and prescription costs for households with variable food insecurity are higher compared to households which did not experience food insecurity. Some households even have to choose whether to skip meals or medications to make ends meet.
Assisting with diabetes prevention and management – which includes a healthy diet – is good economics and solid healthcare management. We pay now, or we pay later, and more, downstream.
Food insecurity is a complex problem that requires action from all levels of government, industry leaders and community organizations to resolve. Addressing the problem will lower Canadians’ risk of developing type 2 and gestational diabetes, improve outcomes for those living with diabetes, and ultimately decrease healthcare system costs.
It’s time food is also seen as essential medicine for those living with diabetes.
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