In a viral video posted to TikTok, a grocery store customer in Ontario, Canada was speechless after discovering a 4-pack of chicken breasts for $51.22.
In a video that has been viewed over 816,000 times since it was first posted on Sept. 28, user Lyndseychacki (@lyndseychacki) said she was so shocked by her discovery that she stopped a fellow shopper in the meat aisle to spread the word.
@lyndseychachki #greenscreen "let's burn this mother down" – me, ranting outside of the grocery store #groceryshopping #ontario #galenweston #dobetterontario ♬ Spongebob Tomfoolery – Dante9k Remix – David Snell
“He was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s crazy,’” she recalled about her fellow shopper’s reaction to the price of the chicken. “We bonded over that, actually. Like, what is happening here? This is madness, right?”
Lyndsey called the prices unsustainable, questioning what shoppers were expected to buy if they couldn’t afford staple items. “What are we supposed to eat? Kraft dinner is $5. We used to get those for 79 cents on sale.”
A viewer from British Columbia, Canada commented, “A single can of spam where I live… is $7. I can’t even afford to eat the ‘poor man’ meals I ate when I was dirt poor as a kid.”
Lindsey’s Ontario market isn’t the only store selling chicken at such high prices. U.S. shoppers are currently feeling a similar strain at the grocery store. Another recent viral TikTok video examined the inflated costs of staples at Walmart’s Great Value brand, once a go-to for budget shoppers. According to the video, Vienna sausages and processed turkey breast experienced some of the largest price jumps since 2020.
Other commenters on Lyndsey’s video expressed their frustrations with rising food costs, sharing alternative shopping methods they’ve adopted in the face of inflation.
“Go to Costco and buy the big packs and portion them out into smaller sizes when you get home,” one suggested for chicken. “You will save a ton.”
Another viewer revealed that they, “Stopped buying meat, only do veggie and beyond beef now because it’s cheap.”
“At this point it’s cheaper to eat a Costco [hotdog] for 3 meals every day,” wrote someone else.
Many shared concerns that due to the high price of the chicken, shoppers would steer clear and the food would eventually be thrown out.
“Trying to understand how pricing things just for them to end up in the garbage even remotely makes sense?!” a viewer wondered.
Some pointed out that the chicken Lyndsey shared in her video was organic, meaning it likely cost more than a package of regular chicken, while others claimed the label was irrelevant. “It is still absurd pricing,” one user argued.
The Daily Dot reached out to Lyndsey via TikTok direct message and to George Weston Ltd. via email.