In a remote Alaska community where polar bears roam, a loaf of bread costs more than $9, a carton of orange juice costs about $10 and a box of cereal costs more than $11.
Grant Magdanz, 30, documented these grocery store prices during a recent return to Kotzebue in Alaska’s northwestern Arctic Borough. Kotzebue is more than 500 miles from Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city.
Known as the “Gateway to the Arctic,” Kotzebue has a population of just over 3,000, according to the city’s website, with approximately 70% of residents being Inupiat Eskimos.
In a pair of videos shared on social media, Magdalene talked about the high cost of living in his hometown, where he attended a memorial service for his father.
“The cost of living here is very high because there are no roads in or out,” he said in a video. “Everything needs to flow.”
In the most recent video, Magdanz described his trip to the latest grocery store in Kotzebue, and recorded the prices of some food and drinks there.
Butter was selling for $8.14 per pound, a quart of orange juice was selling for $9.79, a bag of tortilla chips was selling for $11.29, a bag of Starbucks brand coffee was selling for $17.43, a large box of cereal was selling for $11.05, wheat A loaf of bread was $9.49 – and bananas cost $2.99 per pound.
In a video posted in August, Magdanz recorded the prices of food at the old grocery store there.
The price of milk was $12.69 a gallon, a carton of 18 eggs was $10.79, a 5-pound bag of flour was on sale for $12.99, a regular bag of nacho cheese-flavored chips was $11.29, a can of soda was $12. -It was packed. $15.19 – and a pint of ice cream was $10.69.
Magdanz told news agency SWNS that most people in Kotzebue hunt (especially caribou and moose) and fish – “and the diet that people eat is the same things they hunted.”
“People are just not eating food from the grocery store,” he told SWNS.
Magdanz said that, despite the high prices, Kotzebue is still “a great place to grow up”, primarily because children can learn extensive outdoor skills.
He moved to Seattle a decade ago to attend college and now lives in Los Angeles, where he got a job after graduating.
But he would consider going back someday, the software engineer told SWNS.
Grant Magdanz/SWNS
“This is a very safe city,” Magdanez said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Magdanez and the grocery store for comment.
