Article Re Rising Food Costs In Anchorage (Kodiak, Bethel: low income, sales)

[Alaskapat528]

Anyone moving to Anchorage and who is curious about food prices, here is an article that was in the daily paper today (4/29/08). Read it and weep.

Anchorage grocery costs soar: Anchorage | adn.com (http://www.adn.com/anchorage/story/389900.html - broken link)

[Barkingowl]

That was a real eye opener.

Especially this...

Cathy Squartsoff in Port Lions, on Kodiak Island, said she and her husband are taking the ferry up to Anchorage to load up on groceries for their lodge. The cost of putting three vehicles on a ferry and shopping at Sam's Club and Costco is cheaper than buying groceries in Kodiak, she said. "It is just more expensive," she said of the island prices.

[cobolt]

Originally Posted by Barkingowl

That was a real eye opener.

Especially this...

This isn't anything new. Lots of people in more remote areas or outside of "the city" ferry or fly their groceries in. I know a guy who owns the lodge out at Pybus Bay and he does his shopping at Costco in JNU. Some people in SKG do major shopping in JNU or Whitehorse. There will just be more of it going on, but you wonder with the fuel prices increasing, when it no longer becomes economically feasible.

[akck]

Originally Posted by cobolt

This isn't anything new. Lots of people in more remote areas or outside of "the city" ferry or fly their groceries in. I know a guy who owns the lodge out at Pybus Bay and he does his shopping at Costco in JNU. Some people in SKG do major shopping in JNU or Whitehorse. There will just be more of it going on, but you wonder with the fuel prices increasing, when it no longer becomes economically feasible.

We talked to someone from Sitka who did this. She said the cost of plane tickets to Seattle covered the ferry plus a good portion of what they bought. I'd guess that at least 1/3 of Costco sales in Juneau are either shipped out or bought by people living in outlying areas.

[Barkingowl]

Originally Posted by cobolt

This isn't anything new. Lots of people in more remote areas or outside of "the city" ferry or fly their groceries in.

Well its new to me. It really hits home because it makes you really think about how hard a challenge it is to live in the bush. For me the nearest grocery store is 2 miles from my house. There are probably 10 grocery stores in a 5 mile radius. I've priced the ferry & the amount needed to use it with a vehicle isn't anything to sneeze at.

[bongo]

My friends out in Bethel tell the story of her $30 watermelon. They have a lot of their food ordered from Seattle & barged up. They used to bring a lot back from Costco in Anchorage but now there are restrictions on weight/numbers.

[steel7]

If its so expensive to live in alaska then how do the poor or low income people survive ? I live in ca & the nearest big supermarket (stater bros) is 1 mile away. A much smaller market is 1/2 mile away. I guess i wouldnt mind living in the bush if i had plenty of money & a female companion.

[AK-Cathy]

how do the poor or low income people survive

Public assistance. Food stamps, WIC and welfare. A lot of the villages are entirely (or almost) native and they have a different deal than non-natives. Bottom line: You don't want to be poor in Alaska. The last time I donated some things to the homeless shelter (June 2010) among the usual suspects with obvious substance or mental health issues were some very middle class looking people. Very disturbing.

BTW, this thread is 2 years old. The costs and the truth of it remain but the steep rise has leveled off since the article was written.

[Chilkoot]

Anchorage grocery prices as of last year.
Picasa Web Albums - Chilkoot - Anchorage Gro...

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by AK-Cathy

how do the poor or low income people survive

Public assistance. Food stamps, WIC and welfare. A lot of the villages are entirely (or almost) native and they have a different deal than non-natives.

In what way to Alaska Natives have a "different deal"?

The only thing I know of that is different is medical care, which they are supposed to get in trade for having ceded 330 or so million acres of land to the Federal government. For the past 10-12 years the Feds have been funding that at 60% of need, which results in an exceedingly poor health system. Natives and non-Natives alike who live in bush locations have little choice but to use the system, and we all suffer the consequences equally.

One of the primary reasons that most villages are nearly all Native is because anyone in a village that falls on hard times (loss of employment for example) had better have family available, because otherwise the only viable option is to relocate.