How I shop (updated)

Today someone who is moving to Iqaluit asked me about how we shop. I didn't have time to respond to the email at work but while I was walking the dogs this evening I had a brainwave... why not blog my response?

I don't like Arctic Ventures, although the little 'exotic foods' section in the back right corner can be kind of interesting provided you inspect the best before dates closely. There is not a big turnover in this section and the "new products" sign is looking older than it did when I arrived 6 months ago. The baking stuff is pretty good and you can get superfine sugar here which they never have at North Mart. The upstairs in Ventures is awesome (on an Iqaluit scale) the bookshop is comprehensive and you can buy furs and all kinds of things. Oh and the music played outside is very entertaining, Bollywood & Opera at full blast all distorted over the speakers in a failed attempt to reduce loitering.

My shop of choice is North Mart, yes I know it can be a pain to make your way through the mess of taxis and tangle of abandoned shopping carts then run the gauntlet through the lobby just to get in and there are never any shopping baskets but at least it is mostly sort of clean inside. I probably spend between $500 and $700 a month on groceries such as bread, fresh fruit & veg, cheese, meat, frozen fish (fresh stuff looks very suspect) and milk.

The weekly Metro flyer from Montreal is very enticing but with the different cargo rates for the varying food groups I find it all too complicated. A friend has a nifty spreadsheet that approximates the cost on your kitchen table, he tells me if there are any unmissable deals. Once we ordered a load of T-bone steaks which were amazingly good and excellent value. Sadly they have all been eaten and I am waiting for them to be half price again.

Baffin Canners is good if you can find it. I don't like the brand of milk they sell but it is the place for (frozen) cake and meat.

If you have access to the $1 per kilo staff rate for cargo with the airlines then you can happily shop online from the Country Grocer or Metro Glebe in Ottawa. This is a great way to stock up on heavy things like pasta, rice, tinned tomatoes, canned fruit pie filling and frozen fruit and french fries. The HST rebate makes this even more attractive, but again only with that $1 per kilo rate.

We sealifted mainly for dog food so didn't really have a comprehensive plan for the human food component. Next year we will be shipping up much more. The 2.5 m3 500kg crate cost just over $700 to package and ship. Let's say that half of the shipping was dog food, that means it cost us $350 to get $1,000 of groceries here. By my crappy math that makes it 1/3 more expensive, which is much better than the 2 to 4 times more expensive that it costs here. i.e. a 1l carton of orange juice for $1.33 instead of $4, a tin of pumpkin pie filling for $5.33 instead of $9. Back though to the old issue of stumping up thousands for one grocery shop, and then having the room to put it all.

The airlines have very generous baggage allowances, two 70lb bags per person and a very liberal attitude to hand luggage. If you are strong (or have friends in Ottawa and Iqaluit to help you) and are willing to wait a day if your baggage gets bumped you can take them up on the offer that: "A maximum of three additional pieces can be accepted at check-in subject to $50.00/per piece" First Air and "Third & subsequent pieces accepted on a space available basis $50 per item" Canadian North. That is less than $1 per kilo so I say load er up!

[oops. I never claimed to be a math genius... you cannot determine the cost per kilo when the values in your equation are lbs... 70lb = 44kg in airport land so it is $1.14 per kilo]

The ratio of suitcases to giant rubbermaids / action packers on the Iqaluit airport luggage belt is 1:1. Buy the biggest container that is within your airline's required dimensions and a roll of duct tape, load it up, tape it up and pay your $150. Suggestions for your extra bags include frozen steak, frozen steak, frozen steak and toiletries. If they say the plane is full have them tag the steak as priority and leave the clothes to follow you later.

If you are visiting a friend or relative who lives in Iqaluit you will be issued a list prior to your departure from home. Pack your clothes in your hand luggage, your hosts will ensure your suitcases / rubbermaids are full to the gills.