It's hard to feed a family when a bag of apples costs $15 and a spring chicken will set you back more than $60.
That's why the people of Nunavut are organizing a massive demonstration on Saturday — at home and in Ottawa — to protest the soaring cost of groceries in the territory.
It began with one woman, Leesee Papatsie, a mother of five in Iqaluit, who launched the Facebook page “Feeding My Family” to showcase the extreme prices.
The site features pictures of food on store shelves, with yellow tags depicting prices that would shock consumers in most of Canada.
A case of 12 Best Value pizza pops sells for $20. A box of Chip Ahoy is $11.29. A case of jelly-filled Billet Logs is $17.79.
And that's just the snacks. Healthier options, and some basic necessities, are much pricier.
A pack of spaghetti noodles is $13.49. A bag of apples costs about $15. Red peppers sell for $16.89 per kilogram. A whole chicken will set you back $64.99. And a box of 84 Pampers' diapers runs for $73.
The page urges people to protest outside their local stories on Saturday between 1 and 3 p.m.
More than 10,000 people — one third of the territory's population — has signed up.
A rally is also planned in Ottawa.
The high costs are due to high shipping costs, as food is flown in to the remote area.
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