Store manager in Old Crow, Yukon, says federal food subsidy program not keeping up with rising costs

Nearly $27 for a 12-pack of yogurt cups, and $24 for a four-litre jug of milk — those are some of the prices residents in Old Crow, Yukon, have to pay at their local co-op store.

And the town's store manager said a government food program is partly to blame for the high prices.

Matthew Walsh, who manages the Co-op store, says the federal government's Nutrition North Canada program (NNC) — created to help make nutritious food more accessible and more affordable to people living in isolated northern communities — isn't keeping up with the rising cost of goods and services in Canada.

Registered retailers in eligible northern communities can apply for a subsidy based on the weight of eligible foods shipped by air. The subsidies are to be passed on to northern consumers by reducing the retail prices of eligible foods. The NNC program's national manual governs the terms of the funding agreements with the federal subsidy's recipients.

Old Crow is the only Yukon community to qualify for subsidies under the Nutrition North program.

Walsh said the subsidy rate has only increased once in the last two years, by 2.29 per cent.

"Which is very minimal when you factor in that our store freight rate has actually increased by 20.3 per cent. And then on top of that, you got almost two years worth of inflation," he said.

Walsh said most of the groceries in Old Crow are shipped from Edmonton.

"We have a transportation cost from Edmonton to Whitehorse, and then we have another transportation cost from Whitehorse to Old Crow, and then we have another transportation cost from the airport directly to the store."

Walsh said Old Crow is the seventh rural community he's worked in that's eligible to receive the NNC subsidy, and out of all seven it's been the most expensive place to buy nutritious food items.

"One pound butter [has] gone up 35.04 per cent," he said. "Romaine lettuce has gone up 85.84 per cent. One kilogram of yellow onions [has] gone up 80.13 per cent. Bell peppers have gone up 53.69 per cent.

"The big one for me that's causing a lot of grief in our community right now is the four-litre milk. We've received an increase of 71.48 per cent."

Walsh wants Yukon's politicians to visit his store so that he can explain to them the realities of running a store in a very remote location while trying to keep prices affordable for citizens.

He said if Canada says is committed to supporting people living in remote communities through food program subsidies, those subsidies should keep up with inflation rates, otherwise the program doesn't meet its goal.

'We need to do better,' MP says

Yukon's Liberal MP Brendan Hanley said the Nutrition North Canada program does have a big impact on helping stores reduce costs for the consumer, but he also admitted the subsidy isn't reflective of the current state of inflation.

"It does offset the prices to some degree," Hanley said. "It in itself I don't think is ever going to be able to account or compensate for the high cost of food."

Hanley said there are also other federal programs aimed at addressing food security and sustainability for Northerners, such as the Harvesters Support Grant, and the Community Food Programs fund.

In the meantime, Hanley said the whole Nutrition North Canada program is currently being reviewed by the federal government. He didn't say when that review would be complete.

"It would be worse without the program, but we need to do better. There's lots more to do to improve life and affordability for Old Crow residents," Hanley said.

"I understand the issue deeply and having talked with many people, I do think there are some really concrete efforts in the works to make life better."

CBC News requested an interview with the department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, which runs the Nutrition North program. No one from the department was immediately available to comment and a statement was provided instead. 

The department said since 2011, the program has shipped approximately 991,692 kilograms of "eligible food and non-food items to the community, with a total value of $2,446,364."

"Yet we know that this is not enough. Inflation, rising fuel costs, and supply-chain challenges continue to add significant pressure on northern households in accessing affordable food. The retail subsidy cannot address the needs of isolated and northern communities alone, and one way NNC tries to alleviate this pressure and reduce dependency on market food is through the Harvesters Support Grant and the Community Food Programs Fund."