Laurie O’Connor says more people in Saskatoon are struggling to get food for themselves and their families as the prices in grocery stores rise out of reach.

A newly released Canada-wide survey found people in the Prairie provinces were much more likely to have used emergency measures like food banks or a community fridge.

The survey by the Canadian Hub for Applied and Social Research at the University of Saskatchewan asked people how they cope with increasing food costs.

The majority of respondents said they were using coupons or hunting for sales.

But nearly 20 per cent of people were also reducing meal sizes or skipping them altogether to save money.

Quebec saw the starkest difference from the Prairies, with 95 per cent of respondents there saying they could afford to eat a balanced diet.