MUSKRAT DAM – “This is just the reality of living up here,” said Muskrat Dam community member, River Kakegamic, after scanning a box of burger patties for $60.
“Recently, prices have gone up and it is a sad reality for people up North who rely heavily on our local stores,” she said. “A box of burgers was maybe $20 to $25, but recently it has jumped up to $60 a box.”
Last week, Kakegamic travelled to Thunder Bay and brought groceries home with her for an additional $100 to $150 in freight fees on top of personal luggage. She said she brought back pantry food such as rice, pasta and spaghetti sauce.
“Stuff that would cost me a lot more here,” she explained.
Dr. Lloyd Douglas, a public health physician with the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority (SLFNHA) said that the ability to travel out to the city is not a privilege that many have.
“Thunder Bay is not a car ride; it’s a plane ride away or a couple of plane rides … Just imagine a plane ticket to get some groceries, and then the cost of freight,” he said.
In 2024, SLFNHA published a report that showed up to 62 per cent of a family’s monthly income in area First Nations go towards nutritious foods.
Douglas told Newswatch that “In that report as of March 2021, the average monthly cost of a healthy food diet for a family of four purchased from about 14 stores in the Sioux Lookout area First Nation communities was $1765.12.”
Hecontinued that in just August and September of 2022, “the average monthly cost of a healthy diet from three stores was $1769.43, even while more than half of the Nutritious Food Basket items on the list were not available at the time of the survey.”
That cost was between 37 and 69 per cent higher than in towns and cities in Northwestern Ontario, he said.
In a news release issued on Tuesday, the Northwestern Health Unit (NWHU) said that research shows food insecurity can be reduced by income-based policy solutions like wages and social assistance that reflect the cost of living, affordable housing and childcare, and adequate employment security.
Douglas reflected that the issue is primarily income and employment based at the community level.
“Individuals are not earning enough so that they can purchase foods that will keep them healthy and well. And for some individuals they have to think about sacrificing healthy food so that they can afford rent or other medical expenses,” he said.
“At the end of the day, people need to have enough income to provide for the basic necessities of life,” he said.
Douglas continued that even families that do have the financial resources in these communities may not be able to buy healthy food because of limited access.
It will take teamwork to address this problem, said Douglas, highlighting the fundamental and treaty right of First Nations to create and manage their own food systems, and access nutritious food from stores.
“A call has to go out and to all levels of government, corporate partners, and civil society to work alongside the Sioux Lookout area First Nations in supporting community-led efforts to strengthening food security and ultimately food sovereignty,” he said.
“If we increase the income of individuals, I can tell you that we’ll be saving the health system a lot of dollars down the road because when people are healthy and well, they do not utilize the health-care system,” Douglas added.
The NWHU lists the following as health outcomes of food insecurity:
- Shorter life expectancy — nearly 10 years shorter than people who are food secure
- Poor mental health, including higher rates of depression and anxiety
- A higher risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and chronic pain, and of developing multiple chronic conditions
- A higher risk of infections, injuries, and poor oral health
- Delaying, reducing, or skipping prescription medications because they cannot afford them
SLFNHA will publish their 2026 food affordability report this fall.
By Maya Ekman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Jun 28, 2026 at 15:05
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