New Project- 2017 Grocery Shopping

On the internet, social media and newspapers there is so much coverage about food prices in Northern Canada. At Christmas I even saw a graphic on social media that posted the price of a turkey in various locations throughout the Yukon, NWT and Nunavut. Interesting to say the least. I am also forever listening to people complain about the price of food in Inuvik; some of it I think is warranted and some of it is just simply complaining. When I hear of people complaining about the price of watermelon in Inuvik in January, this is not legit complaining as #1 you shouldn't be buying watermelon in January (carbon foot print!) and #2 the fact that you can even access watermelon in Inuvik in January is a small miracle in itself!

So here is what I believe:

1. You can easily access whole food and healthy food 12 months of the year in Inuvik.
2. That if you buy foods according to each season and if you limit processed foods than food costs can be reasonable.
3. That if you limit yourself to a medium level of simplicity in cooking/meal planning/consumption (no watermelon in January and not eating steak and lobster dinners), food costs can also be reasonable.
4. For those fortunate enough to receive a Northern Allowance or other allowances with their jobs, people are indeed compensated for possible additional food costs incurred.

Many people will disagree but this is what I believe. So my plan for the next year is to blog about availability and price of food in Inuvik and see if what I track actuals backs up these beliefs!

For those people new to Inuvik (small, remote community) these are my tips that I tell them about food availability and costs:

• Buy local as much as possible.
• Limit your food needs/tastes. Example: You may not be cooking really specific recipes or ethnic recipes that you may have cooked in a city/down south.
• Keep a good selection of dry goods and condiments stocked up in your cupboards. Example: quinoa, rice, canned beans, lentils, couscous, canned veggies, etc.
• Drink UHT, soy milk, almond milk, etc instead of cow's milk.
• Preserve or freeze local meat and veggies as much as you can each season (fishing, hunting, berrypicking, garden, greenhouse, etc).
• Do a meat order some how/some way. This might be from the local reindeer herd, from a butcher down south or a meat pack from a local grocery store.
• Buy 50% expired food as much as possible. Freeze it if need be! its the only way I buy chicken in Inuvik!

Experiment #1: Comparing Food Prices

Two curiosities.

A) I am curious if food prices vary from grocery store to grocery store in Inuvik and I want the actual documentation and proof of this. Not just anecdotes from loyal customers. So here is a copy of my basic grocery shop at Stanton's from January 6, 2017 (middle of winter, storm day, Dempster Highway has been closed a lot). The only thing not available was cow's milk for my mom! I will do the same grocery shop/list soon from northern store and the local convenience store.

B) I am also curious if food prices are drastically different from summer to winter. So here is my proof of winter prices. Normally I would not buy blueberries or avocadoes in January but I know I will be buying them in the summer. I will have to see if there is actually a price difference in these items season to season.

This grocery list also shows what my basic food consumption is. Sure I buy chips, snacks, pop, etc each week but this is a basic supply of what I eat/consume regularly.

• avocadoes
• green onions
• carrots
• squash
• almond milk
• canned tomatoe sauce
• canned beans
• lettuce
• peppers
• tomatoes
• feta cheese
• seeds/nuts (pumpkin seeds)
• condiment (honey)
• eggs
• ground turkey (frozen)
• ground beef (frozen)
• blueberries
• strawberries (frozen for protein shakes)

 

Yes, all these foods were available and looking to be in good condition as Stanton's today. I was impressed by this. The only product not available was cow's milk. I checked at 2 places and nothing except 50% chocolate milk was available.

 

Happy shopping, cooking and eating! I am looking forward to see what I find by tracking all of this in 2017 in Inuvik.

 

S.