Readjustment

One of the benefits of going home (aside from the love-fest) is being able to shop for groceries at reasonable prices. On a couple of occasions we were walking around the store just so we could marvel at the selection, freshness and inexpensive cost of food. Just as we were getting used to the pricing in the north, we go home and are reminded that although some things are somewhat close-ish in price, there are many things that are not. Thankfully Nutrition North subsidizes healthy options so the cost isn't too bad, but non-healthy options are charged at full rates.

Take for example, the items in these two photos...how much would you say the total came to for each receipt?

The first is from a quick trip to the store on the first day we got back to tide us over for a few days until we had time to do a big shop. Things we bought: lettuce, cauliflower, bell peppers, zucchini, cucumber, celery, carrots, bananas, grapes, potatoes, onions, fresh chicken breast, orange juice, milk, sour cream and granola bars.

We also picked up candy to hand out for Halloween and grabbed these two 90 count boxes. (These won't be enough for the number of kids we might typically get, but it's a start)

So...guess how much these two purchases cost!

The first picture came to about $90. Now that in itself doesn't sound too horrible, but if I really think about it, I probably could get that amount of food for just over half of that amount if I was buying the items on sale in the south. Again, it could be a lot worse without Nutrition North "subsidizing" the cost, so I suppose I shouldn't complain too much.

The second picture, the items were not covered by Nutrition North and the two boxes of candy came to just under $70. Big difference, huh? Not to mention that I'm quite certain I could get one of those boxes in the south for under $10. Stores say that the cost of items are so much more expensive because of freight and the cost of doing business in the north. You can't possibly tell me that these boxes really cost retailers *that* much to ship up? I don't believe that for a second!

As you can see, there's been a need to readjust back to the way of Nunavut and get over our sticker shock when we shop. So...were you right in your guess? Are you surprised, or were you expecting it to be more? Let's discuss!

-L