Shopping Part One: Groceries

What? How much?

Awhile ago I published a post about the sealift arriving in the city. I'm sure some people looked at the crates and shipping containers and thought, "Why? Surely there must be shopping up there....Why are people getting things like groceries shipped on a boat?"

Yes, you can shop here.  And yes, it is THAT expensive.  It is cheaper to hire someone in Montreal to buy a bunch of goods such as toilet paper, rice, pasta, and cereal, a couch, a car, bicycles, etc., package it in a wooden crate, put it on a boat, and have it sail across the ocean to be delivered to your driveway.


You can't farm on tundra, so there is no such thing as "locally grown" produce.  There are two department stores that stock food: Northmart and Arctic Ventures. You can find bread, milk, cereal, cheese, meat, jam, pasta, etc....... Many of the same foods you would find in any grocery store. You can even get Old El' Paso taco kits. The difference is that you will have very little selection (and wacky brands. Ever hear of the brand "Gold D'Or"? I hadn't until I got up here. You can get Gold D'Or garbage bags, soups, hot chocolate, etc.). Plus, again, the prices are extremely high as all food has to be brought in by boat or plane.

Because the prices are so high, and so much of the population is struggling financially, Northmart even has an entire "discount" section in the middle of the store that is stocked with expired food.  Most of the food is dry goods (because, really, can Kraft Macaroni and Cheese go bad?), but also includes canned food, drinks, sauces, soups, etc.

Another option for food is the "Country Food Store".  I wasn't quite sure what "country food" is. (Having spent my teen years in Virginia my immediate thought was that "country food" sounded a lot like "southern food", so fried chicken and biscuits came to mind.) Turns out it is food that has been hunted on the tundra locally. The sign out-front the day I was there  says "maktaaq" which is frozen whale skin and blubber.  They also had "tuktu" which is caribou. Basically, the store sells meat that has been provided by Inuit hunters. The meat is vacuum packed and stored in freezers. You go in, open a chest freezer like you would at your house, dig around for awhile and voila! Iqaluit frozen dinner. 

One of those pictures that says 1000 words.

Whale skin anyone?

source
Maktaaq

The local stores are great (if pricey) if you want the basics. But want a particular brand of goods, such as (in JJ's case) Billy Bee honey? I personally like sugar-free apricot preserves (Smuckers brand). Even things like sesame seeds or plain bread crumbs can be hard to find. My options include 1) go without. 2) Have the non-perishable items shipped annually on the sealift. 3) Use a service such as The Northern Shopper. The Northern Shopper is a great little business deserving of its own post. People in Ottawa go to stores for you (Costco, M&M meat shops) and buy groceries that you have selected from an excel spreadsheet.  They package it up for you, and ship it via cargo plane. I haven't tried this service yet, but I'm eager to. I'll let you all know how it goes!

There IS another way to obtain fresh produce.  A local community group (called IqaluEAT--get it?) is striving to create a food co-op here in Iqaluit.  They plan semi-regular (about every 2 months) "markets",  for which they arrange a whole bunch of in-season produce from elsewhere in the country to be flown-in at a discount. They take advance orders for "food baskets" at a cost of $50.  The contents of these basket is a bit of a mystery until they arrive, but they are guaranteed to contain fresh fruits and vegetables.

Today's line-up in the rain--very popular spot!
We waited 45 minutes to get in.

My box of mystery food.........

Super fresh!  Captain JS and friends are shocked this all
came out of that box.

The freshest produce on Baffin Island! (Before the crowd.)

Line up for the market inside the building. Photo (and the previous photo above)
taken from the IqaluEAT Facebook site.

The IqaluEAT event was well worth attending, and I absolutely plan to go again next time.  Everything was fresh, and there was nothing crazy in there like fennel (cause, who eats fennel?).

Up next: Fall colors on the tundra--or does something more interesting happen over the next couple of days?  Check back to find out!