Living in the Arctic certainly has its challenges. with not only extreme temperatures of below minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and 24-hour darkness, but also extortionate grocery prices.
"It costs $47 for four chicken breasts in one particular shop, and also a jar of Nutella was $48," Willow Anne Allen, 24, told Newsweek. She is a model, influencer, advocate, and social work student who was born in the Arctic, in the town of Inuvik in the Northwest Territories (NWT) of Canada. While these prices are inconceivable to most people, this is the norm in the north of the country.
Willow Anne Allen was born in Arctic and is part of the Inuvik Northwest Territory community. Groceries are incredibly expensive in the Arctic, where four chicken breasts cost $47. Willow Anne Allen was born in Arctic and is part of the Inuvik Northwest Territory community. Groceries are incredibly expensive in the Arctic, where four chicken breasts cost $47. Willow Anne Allen"I lived there all my life growing up," Allen added. "I eventually left for school but have always remained a resident of the NWT. I return home every year for holidays and for my summers off. I also spent last winter home, working for the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation as the regional youth coordinator."
In a video posted to Allen's Instagram (@willow.allen), she also shows a bag of oranges for $16, a box of blueberries for $10, and $16 for a ready-made pizza. For a modest food shop, Allen said that it cost her $215 Canadian dollars [$159].
Federal data shows that, in 2019, the average family of four living in the Northern Territories needed to spend roughly $1,680 on food each month. Contrastingly, experts say that the same family in southern Canada just need to spend just over $1,000 each month on food.
With foodstuffs transported to the northern territories by boat, plane or a handful of individuals, "the region has been dealing with high prices and soaring food insecurity for years," said Canada's National Observer news website, "despite an annual federal subsidy worth roughly $134 million last year known as Nutrition North."
"Things are shockingly more expensive in the north compared to the rest of Canada," said Allen. "In Inuvik, the prices are extremely high, but they aren't even as close to as high as they are in more remote communities."
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Between a fifth and a half of northern residents are food insecure, according to Canada's National Observer. The news website also said that "Indigenous people are particularly at risk—the result of colonialism, the isolation of their communities and economic precarity."
"Colonization took a drastic toll on our culture and traditional way of life," said Allen. "My hope is that traditional practices, lifestyle and teaching aren't lost through the generations, rather continue to be prioritized and embraced and incorporated into who we are as Inuvialuit."
The cost of living crisis in the north is far from new. However, Canada's National Observer said that, in March 2023, recent months of high food prices in the north coincided with record profits from grocers in the south, "prompting MPs to summon representatives from Canada's three largest grocers to Ottawa. The trio was asked to justify why their ledgers showed profits as millions of Canadians struggled to afford food."
Despite the very high costs of living in the Arctic, Allen wouldn't change where she is from.
"I'm always so grateful for my Inuvialuit culture and growing up in Inuvik," Allen said. "The activists and cultural traditions I got to do growing up with my family and community are some of my favorite memories and what make up so much of who I am.
"I love many things about my culture. One of my favorite things from growing up was traveling out to our cabin on Inuvialuit land. The life out in the bush was completely different then life in town. I spent so much of my childhood living out there, hunting, fishing, getting wood, being outdoors," Allen added.
"I learned a lot about surviving on the land from the knowledge passed down through my family. My grandparents were raised on the land, and we try not to lose that part of our traditions," she said.
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