How Our 2025 Food Spending Compares to Vancouver Families (Family of 4 Budget Breakdown)

Food is one of the most emotional categories in any family budget. It’s tied to health, time, convenience, social life, and comfort — which is exactly why it’s also one of the hardest expenses to control.

For 2025, I tracked every dollar our family of four spent on groceries, alcohol, restaurants, coffee, takeout, and dining out. Today I’m sharing the full breakdown and how our spending compares to both Canadian and Vancouver averages. I didn’t include the money I personally spent on dining out and coffees in these numbers but it would add to about $100 a month on average.

If you’ve ever wondered, “Are we spending too much on food?” (which I wonder all the time)— this post is for you.

Our 2025 Food Spending at a Glance

Here are the numbers::

Total food + alcohol spending in 2025:
$15,320.31

Monthly average: $1,276

This includes:

• Groceries
• Restaurants and takeout
• Coffee shops
• Alcohol purchases

Let’s break it down.

Groceries

2025: $12,812.70
Monthly average: $1,067.73
2024: $11,520.89
Increase: +11% YoY

Dining Out / Takeout

2025: $2,068
Monthly average: $172.33
2024: $1,851.67
Increase: +11.7% YoY

Alcohol

2025: $439.61
2024: $501.72
Change: Down 12%

First Reaction: That Feels Like A Lot of Money

When you see $15,000 per year, it can feel shocking. That’s more than many families spend on vacations.

I pretty much buy most things on sale or at the local discount grocery store. We do eat high quality proteins, we have beef once a week, salmon or fish at least twice a week for dinner. Some of our regular meals on rotation include chicken karaage, beef pho, dijon mustard and honey salmon, hot pot, poke bowls, and sushi bake.

We also eat a lot of fruits. A bunch of bananas will last us about a few days. 6 lbs of apples will last us a week maybe.

But food is one of the largest non-housing expenses for families — and inflation has pushed costs up dramatically (this is an understatement) over the last few years.

To understand whether this is “high” or “low,” we need some context.

What the Average Canadian Family Spends on Food

Recent Canadian food cost estimates show:

According to the Agri-Food Analytics Lab the average Canadian family of four in 2025 spends roughly:

$16,834

That includes groceries and restaurants combined.

That puts our spending of $15,320 a bit below the national range.

But here’s the key detail:

We live in Vancouver.

And Vancouver is not an average-cost city.

My kids are also young so these costs will go up. My son is eating more now, the other day he had 2 bananas in one day and I think he can eat 1/4 of a Kirklan frozen blueberries bag in one sitting.

Why Vancouver Food Costs Are Higher

Vancouver consistently ranks among the most expensive cities in Canada for groceries and dining. Several factors drive this:

• Higher commercial rent → restaurants charge more
• Higher wages → labour costs increase food prices
• Transportation → groceries cost more to ship
• Strong dining culture → more social spending around food (Vancouverites are foodies)
• High concentration of premium grocery stores

In short, the national average isn’t the best comparison. Vancouver families typically spend more.

Grocery Spending: How We Compare

Budget planners often use three grocery tiers for a family of four:

Budget Level	Monthly Grocery Spending
Frugal	$800–$1,000
Moderate	$1,000–$1,400
Liberal	$1,400–$1,800+

For Vancouver specifically, most families fall into the moderate to liberal range, often spending $1,200–$1,600/month on groceries.

Our grocery spending:
$1,067/month

That puts us below the typical Vancouver range.

Even with an 11% increase from last year, we’re still keeping groceries relatively controlled (I hope).

Why Our Grocery Spending Is Lower Than Many Vancouver Families

1. We (as In I) Cook Most Meals at Home

Restaurant meals are expensive (about $60 to $100 each time we go out if we do a sit down restaurant). Cooking shifts spending from restaurants (high cost per meal) to groceries (much lower cost per meal).

I cook most meals and we do take out or go out to a restaurant about once a week.

2. Costco

Bulk buying reduces per-unit costs on:

• Meat
• Snacks
• Pantry staples
• Household items

This is one of the biggest factors keeping our grocery budget stable, however, I still flinch every time the cashier at Costco rings up the bill when I visit monthly.

We probably spend about $400 to $600 a month at Costco. The Costco Executive membership would be worth it for us according to these numbers but we haven’t upgraded yet.

3. We Minimize Food Waste

Leftovers, meal planning, and freezer meals make a difference.

I don’t like to throw out food.

I plan out our meals on a weekly basis. My kids often ask me ‘what’s for dinner’ I tell them to look at the calendar.

4. Shopping Sales

I try to buy most things on sale and meal plan around that, versus the other way around. If it’s a pantry staple that I have completely run out of I will buy it regular price.

Shopping without regard to the sales flyers probably adds $200–$400/month.

Dining Out: The Vancouver Budget Killer

I think this is where many household budgets explode.

Typical Vancouver prices:

• Family takeout: $50–$80
• Casual restaurant meal: $80–$120 (White Spot- a regular family favourite place in Vancouver is at least $80)

Now compare that to us.

Dining out in 2025: $2,068 total
Monthly: $172

For Vancouver, this is very low.

Many families spend:

• $300–$600/month
• Some spend $800+/month

Our restaurant spending is likely 40–70% lower than many Vancouver households.

This single category explains a huge portion of our overall savings.

Alcohol Spending

Our alcohol spending dropped this year:

2025: $439
Monthly: $36

This includes alcohol bought to give as gifts.

The Big Comparison

Here’s the full picture:

Category	Our Family	Typical Canadian Family	Typical Vancouver Family
Groceries	$12,812	$12k–$14k	$14k–$18k
Dining out	$2,068	$2k–$4k	$4k–$7k
Alcohol	$440	$1k+	$1k–$2k
Total	$15,320	$14k–$16k	$19k–$25k

Key takeaway:
We’re average for Canada — but below average for Vancouver.

The Biggest Driver of Food Spending

Food budgets are incredibly lifestyle-driven.

Two families with identical incomes can have completely different food spending based on:

• How often they eat out
• Grocery store choices
• Coffee habits
• Alcohol habits
• Meal planning
• Social lifestyle
• Whether they buy groceries on sale

Food is part necessity, part entertainment.

The Real Question: Are We Happy With This?

This matters more than comparisons.

Our spending reflects choices we feel good about:

• Cooking at home most nights
• Still enjoying occasional restaurants
• Saving money without feeling deprived

A budget only works if it supports your lifestyle.

Why Our Spending Increased in 2025

We saw:

• 11% grocery increase
• 11.7% dining out increase

This was mostly inflation. Food prices rose significantly again in 2025, it was 3.5%. It sure feels more than 3.5% though.

Prices for milk have gone up, butter, bacon, beef, chicken…

Even households that didn’t change habits saw increases.

I think it is also because my 8 year old boy is eating more too now. And my husband was training for a bit fitness event and he was eating a lot for half of 2025. The amount of eggs I bought was not enough so I had to switch to the Costco egg flats.

Final Thoughts

Food spending is personal. There’s no single “correct” number.

But tracking it gives clarity.

I think I could improve upon this though, we could dine out at sit down restaurants less. However it is difficult to do when you are doing these sports team lunches, you can’t not join in and look like a grinch.

Our 2025 takeaway:

It’s possible to stay near the Canadian average even in one of the most expensive cities in the country — without extreme frugality.

If you track your food spending too, I’d love to hear how your numbers compare!