A typical shopping day in an Alaskan village

Amazing blog post.

Today my husband and I decided to travel the 25 miles to Emmonak to get groceries. Here is what getting groceries entails in Nunam Iqua.... We went into the store and bought our groceries. Here is a list of what we bought:

$ 8.99 —- 2 lbs Raisins
$ 3.10 —- 2 boxes of Jiffy Blue berry Muffin mix
$ 6.99 —- 1 bag generic cheerios
$10.25 —- 3lb Coffee creamer
$ 4.72 —- 8 packages unsweetened Koolaid
$17.34 —- 6 cans of fruit cocktail
$10.76 —- 4 cans vegetables (2 peas 2 beans)
$13.35 —- 1 large jar of Mayo
$ 6.45 —- 1 one pound box spaghetti noodles
$10.35 —- 5 lbs white rice
$13.40 —- 4 boxes of rice-a-roni
$ 4.49 —- 1 can spaghetti sauce
$ 5.00 —- 4 small cans chili
$ 8.95 —- 12 cup a noodles
$11.98 —- 2 loaves generic bread
$ 9.95 —- 6 rolls of Toilet paper
$12.90 —- 2 - 2lb boxes of pilot bread
$ 6.99 —- 5 lbs fresh potatoes
$ 5.99 —- 18 eggs
$ 3.81 —- 1 quart cottage cheese
$ 7.99 —- 1 pkg string cheese
$ 6.38 —- 2 pkg blue bonnet margarine
$ 3.99 —- 1 pkg frozen stir fry veggies
$ 9.15 —- 1 dozen frozen corn on the cob
$ 7.41 —- 1 pkg oven roasted turkey (for sandwiches)
$ 6.19 —- 1 pkg sliced ham (for sandwiches)
$14.78 —- 2 pkg Kielbasa Sausage
$11.42 —- 2 lbs ground beef
$22.36 —- 5 pork chops
$16.38 —- 2 pkgs Johnsonville Italian Sausage
$19.58 —- 2 pkgs Tyson IQF frozen drumsticks
$ 9.79 —- 1 pkg Tyson IQF chicken thighs
$ 6.49 —- 6 rolls generic paper towels
$82.55 —- 1 case size 6 Huggies diapers (144 diapers)

Total including tax
$409.26

The groceries were packed into 3 boxes plus the box of diapers. We took this out and put it in our sled and wrapped it with a tarp and tied it down so it wouldn’t slide around. We then went to the Emmonak Corporation Store Deli and shared a plate of fried shrimp and French fries and a can of pop totaling about $16.00. We left the Corporation Store and went to the Tank farm to get gas before we headed home. We bought 6 gallons of gas which cost us $43.50 but we were relieved because we had been hearing the rumors that Emmonak’s gas might jump to $9-$11 a gallon so we were happy we only had to pay $7.25 a gallon...

Goes to the point I always make about the effect of your income being totally contingent on where you live and the local cost of living.