For some inexplicable reason, everyone forgets how to park in the winter. I know the lines in the parking lot have disappeared under snow and ice. However, the distance we leave between our vehicles, hasn’t changed. About a foot on either side is about right. NOT.THREE. FEET. I’m not exaggerating. This is not hyperbole. I was out shopping on the weekend in a mall parking lot where everyone driving round and round the merry go round would have been very glad to get a spot in the backest of back rows, but none were available. Was it because the mall was busy? No. It was because about half of the actual available square footage in that parking lot was being under-utilized. There was literally at least three feet between all the vehicles. It doesn’t matter where the lines are – just make sure you park appropriately next to the vehicle beside you. Oh, and one other thing, if you have a shopping cart, don’t leave it sitting in a parking spot where some other driver now can’t get in. That’s just rude and lazy, and obnoxious. That’s coffee talk, I’m Vanese Ferguson.

I don’t have children to buy food for. I am fortunate and don’t have to worry too much about picking up what I want for groceries. And I tend to lean heavily on fresh vegetables and fruit. But of late, that has changed. At the beginning of December a report was released by Dalhousie University and the University of Guelph which stated the average Canadian family was going to spend $411 more this year to fill the grocery cart. Leading the charge would be a jump in the price of vegetables. Wow, has it ever. I had serious sticker shock recently when I went to grab a head of cauliflower and it was $6.99. And a bunch of carrots versus a bag of carrots – I like the bunch because there are only two of us – um, no, I think I will get that 2 pound bag of carrots and…get creative, I guess. How many ways can you eat carrots? Not long after experiencing the big jump in food prices, the new Canada Food Guide comes out and it is advocating for more plant based protein and fresh vegetables. I agree with the folks at the Prince Albert Food Bank which recently noted most average families can’t afford it. We recently asked on our cjwwradio.com internet news poll question whether our listeners had found the cost of food had increased noticeably in the new year. 77 per cent of those who responded said yes. So I guess the goal in 2019, the challenge, really, is eat healthy but don’t break the bank.
That’s Coffee Talk, I’m Vanese Ferguson.