One in three children lives in poverty in Saskatchewan. 

That statistic is coming from Melanie Warken, a public health nutritionist for the Moose Jaw area. She said food security is broken into three categories: affordability, availability, and use, which is the knowledge of nutrition and preparation.

"A household income is the strongest predictor of food and security," explained Warken, who also said efforts have been made locally to help families combat not having access to healthy and affordable food. "We planted a new community food orchard on some vacant land space in northeast Moose Jaw. It helps improve access to free, locally grown produce in the community."

She noted that a recently released document stated grocery prices are about to take another bump as we enter into the New Year. 

"A national report was released...they're saying Saskatchewan experienced a small decrease in 2018. They are forecasting that the average Canadian family will spend about $411 more per year on groceries in 2019 as compared to what they spent in 2018."

Unfortunately, grocery prices and healthy eating can go hand in hand in some cases, and Warken said there are some residents and families who may feel the brunt of the increase a little more than others. 

"We know that the cost of food can make healthy eating difficult for many families in Saskatchewan. There are certain groups of people that are at more risk for experiencing household food and security. Some of those groups can include people receiving social assistance, a single parent household, recent immigrants and people with chronic health conditions."

An average family of four in the province pays close to $220 a week on groceries, compared to a rural family who spends $240, and a family in northern Saskatchewan pays close to $440 per week.

Since 2012, the cost of groceries has increased 11.5 percent in the province.