The latest example of food inflation gone wild has sparked a chorus of online outrage after Toronto writer Jamie Bradburn stumbled across a 454 g package of Lactantia unsalted butter selling for $9.29 at his Leaside Loblaws and posted an image online.
“I was just laughing because it was listed on the marker as an ‘everyday essential,’ ” Bradburn said. “And yet, it was one of the most sky-high prices for butter I’ve seen — even in this year of inflation.”“Perhaps Galen goes to the creamery and churns it himself with his silver spoon. #greed,” one person replied, taking a shot at Loblaw Co. chairman Galen Weston. “It’s prices like these that make my Costco membership worthwhile.
“It really sort of hit a nerve and reflected people’s frustrations with rising costs of food,” Bradburn said about the response to his post. “The cost we pay for butter has been climbing for a year and a half,” a Loblaw spokesperson told the Star in an emailed statement. “In fact, we frequently sell butter at a loss. That said, we do what we can to provide value, through promotions and through our own no name brand, which can be found in the same section for $6.49.”