Wandering up and down the four or five aisles of the Northern grocery store in Arviat, my husband and I check prices and expiry dates on everything. Skim milk is about $5.00 for 2 L, a bit high, but the scrawny, whole chicken is over $20.00, almost 50% pricier than at my grocery store at home in Ontario.
I pick up a head of lettuce. It’s is $6.99.
“Doesn’t the Co-op have it on sale this week for $3.99?” My husband puts the lettuce back into the bin.
“Let’s go there when we’re done here.” On the next aisle we see a loaf of garlic bread for $7.00. We return it to the shelf. Olive oil? Out of the question. It is cheaper to buy the bottled Caesar dressing with its long list of unhealthy ingredients at just over $4.00 even if its expiry date has passed. Carrots and apples seem to be the only reasonable fresh produce if we compare their pricesto those at premium grocery stores at home, not the prices at discount variety stores like Food Basics.
As we walked back to our daughter’s house, we carried basic ingredients for the evening’s dinner. A $100-dollar bag to feed four people for one meal.
The High Cost Of Food In Nunavut Should Shock All Canadians
The High Cost Of Food In Nunavut Should Shock All Canadians: