Food prices are on the rise across across the country and local food banks are feeling the pinch.

According to The University of Guelph's Food Institute, it's estimated the average Canadian household spent an additional $325 on food in 2015, and this year, we should expect an additional annual increase of about $345.

Sheila Hughes, executive director of the Okotoks Food Bank, says they use volunteers to sort, distribute and pick up their food which helps to keep costs down and increase the value of food they receive.

Hughes says it now takes more thought to plan where and how they purchase their food.

"We shop sales more, that's one of the things we're really careful about, we're careful about how we spend funds on the more expensive perishable items," she says. "What we would love to maybe do is talk to our donors about providing gift certificates or funds so we're able to go out and purchase the expensive items such as meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables."

The University of Guelph's Food Institute says about 81% of all vegetables and fruit consumed in Canada are imported which means they're subject to currency fluctuations. These perishable food items are estimated to go up in price by four to 4.5% this year.

Hughes says she's already planning for a spike in clients for 2016.

"We're looking at working with Calgary Food Banks in a collective purchasing partnership so we can use the power of a big food bank like Calgary to purchase products at a lower price... so that's something we're looking at for 2016 because we're expecting an even bigger increase in demand."

She adds the Okotoks Food Bank saw a 48% increase in the amount of hampers distributed and a 78% increase in new families in 2015.

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