In a remote community in Alaska where polar bears roam, a loaf of bread costs more than $9, a can of orange juice costs about $10, and a box of cereal costs $11.
Grant Magdanz, 30, documented these grocery store prices recently while back in Kotzebue in Alaska's northwest Arctic. 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 people, about 70 percent Inupiat Eskimo, according to the city’s website.
In two videos he shared on social media, Magdanz spoke 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 ways in or out,” he said in one of the videos. “Everything needs to fly.”
In the latest video, Magdanz described his visit to Kotzebue's newest grocery store, and recorded the prices of some of the food and drinks there.
Butter was on sale for $8.14 per pound, a quart of orange juice was on sale for $9.79, a bag of tortilla chips was on sale for $11.29, a bag of Starbucks coffee was on sale for $17.43, a large box of cereal was on sale for $11.05, and a loaf of wheat bread. It was $9.49 – and bananas were $2.99 per pound.
In a video posted in August, Magdanz recorded the prices of food and drinks at the old grocery store there.
Milk was $12.69 per gallon, an 18-egg carton was $10.79, a 5-pound bag of flour was on sale for $12.99, a regular bag of nacho cheese-flavored potato chips was $11.29, and a 12-pack of soda was on sale. $15.19 – A pint of ice cream was $10.69.
Most people in Kotzebue hunt (caribou and moose, in particular) and fish — “and the diet people eat is the stuff they hunted,” Magdanz told SWNS news agency.
“People don't just eat from the grocery store,” he told SWNS.
Despite the high prices, Kotzebue is still “a great place to grow up,” Magdanz said, mainly because kids can learn wide-ranging outdoor skills.
He moved a decade ago to attend college in Seattle and now lives in Los Angeles, where he got a job after graduating.
But he might consider coming back one day, the software engineer told SWNS.
Grant Magdanz/SWNS
“It's a very safe city,” Magdanz said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Magdanz and the grocery store for comment.
