Three Months in the Alaskan Bush

This week marks the third month we have been living in Kaltag, AK, a small fishing village of about 170 individuals, located on the Yukon River, just about 150 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Our time here has been inviting and cold…very cold. Temperatures breached the freezing point only a few times just after we arrived; for the most part, temperatures have commonly stayed between 5 and -15 degrees Fahrenheit. Our coldest day so far was Christmas Day, where it dropped all the way down to -52 degrees. That was a cold day. An old timer told me it does that whenever the “Russian” or “Siberian” air visits. It is currently -17 degrees outside with a “feels like” of -33. This coming week’s forecast calls for highs in the mid-teens and lows in the mid-thirties. Though I love to pontificate over the deeper truths of existence, I thought I’d spend a post simply relating the biggest surprises and adjustments of living and teaching in the Bush so far.

When moving here, my biggest concern was not so much the weather, but rather, it was about the food. Though part of the perk of being employed with the district here is that you get free meals at school each day, those meals usually do not meet to the strict standards Ash and I have set for ourselves. To be fair, our school food is fairly consistent with what many schools across the nation tend to boast in their cafeterias. Unfortunately, most schools throughout the U.S. continue to buy into bad science regarding nutrition and make decisions mostly based on bottom-line budget considerations, rather than the health of our students. But… I promised not to pontificate.

Given the issue with school food, it becomes necessary for Ash and I to find a way to get our own food delivered. There are several ways to procure food here in the Bush. First, you can hire a shopper in Fairbanks who does your routine shopping, and then takes it to the airport and puts it on a plane for you. Apparently, there are individuals who do this as their regular job in Fairbanks. Such individuals secure clients in the Bush and run their errands and do their shopping in the city for a set fee, and then ship the items via Bush plane out to their clients. However, we don’t know anyone in the city (yet) so we have relied on a more professional service through Fred Meyer (part of the Kroger line of grocery stores) to procure our groceries. Here’s the process, which it seems has become a lot easier over the last couple of years.

The first step in the process is to contact the Fred Meyer’s Bush Shipping Department and fill out an application to set up Bush Shipping. It’s relatively easy but it requires that you submit your name and general information to help align your orders online with their services. I would like to note here, that the ladies in the Fred Meyer’s Bush Department have been nothing short of brilliant thus far. I’ve had so many questions about the process along the way and they have guided me with patience every step along the way.

After you have set up a Bush account, you then are able to shop through fredmeyer.com, just like you would any other online grocer, with a few exceptions. First, you can only order items that are available for “Pick Up” in store and you cannot order any alcohol, fuel, or pressurized items (which includes scrubbing bubbles foaming cleaning…ask me how I know). Also, items may not be listed for “Pick Up” due to limited stock or their fragile nature. For example, eggs cannot be ordered directly, as they are classified in a way that limits their availability. Overall, though, most items are generally available and may be shopped virtually through their website or phone app.

Once your order is complete, more fun ensues. Per bush order instructions, I have to set up the order as a “Pick Up” order and select a time for pick up that occurs Monday through Thursday between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM. For those in Central Texas, think of it like setting up an HEB curbside order. Additionally, after sending the order in, I then have to email the ladies in the Bush Department to let them know of the order and the respective pick-up time. In this email, I also add any items that were not able to be added to the normal online pick-up order (such as eggs…not sure why…but it is what it is).

Since we are not actually picking up the order in Fairbanks, the ladies at the Bush Shipping Department intercept the order and pack it all up for shipping. Every item is sorted into three general classifications: freeze, chill, and dry. Eggs are wrapped in bubble wrap to protect them during the shipping process. Jars have the lids taped to help ensure nothing is jarred loose during shipping. Items are carefully packed in their respective boxes with packing material, taped up, and then sent via courier to the bush airport servicing our village, Wright Airline. Once the order has been delivered to Wright, I receive an email confirmation of the final receipt of items (which is always a bit fun because out-of-stock items are dropped from the order), the number of boxes included in the order, and the overall weight of the order. Why the weight, you may ask?

All things shipped to our village are shipped based on the item’s weight. As such, the weight matters. After I receive the confirmation email from the bush shipping department, I then have to call Wright Airlines to pay the shipping fee for the order. Yes, an additional transaction is necessary to then fly the groceries from Fairbanks to Kaltag. The current rate is about $1.30 per pound. Once I pay for the order, it takes anywhere from 2-6 days to ship it out to Kaltag. The actual time completely depends on the relative demand of all other items being transported through Wright’s. People take priority and since each plane is capped regarding how much weight can be included: more people = less freight. It really is interesting, as you never really know when your order is going to come in.

The final part of the process is that we must call Wright Airline each day following the payment to see if our order is on that day’s flight. Sometimes it is, sometimes it is not. Here in Kaltag, it is each person’s responsibility to meet the plane carrying their freight to pick it up at the airport (pretty much an open air strip). If your order is on that day’s flight, you have to make arrangements to meet the plane, which does not always come in at the time stated. Here you learn to always keep an ear out for the plane. Once the plane descends, it pulls out on the airstrip, pulls to a stop, and we all walk up and begin pulling all the boxes out of the cargo area of the plane, calling the name on each box as we pull it out. When your name is called, you grab your box, throw it on your sled, and continue helping others.

After all that, you take your groceries back to your house. It is essential to do that immediately, because since it is often below freezing, all of your “chill” items will quickly freeze if they’re left outside for too long. And that’s it.  The simple method of how we get our groceries.

How much does all of that cost?

The grocery store prices are actually not that much higher than what we had in Central Texas. Some items are notably more expensive but overall, nothing shocking. However, to have the Bush Department pack your items, an additional 10% is added to your order to compensate for the packing service. Once packed, the transfer from the grocery store to the airline costs a flat rate of $25 per order. As I noted, the order then costs another $1.30 per pound at Wright’s to fly it out to Kaltag.

Items that tend to be the most expensive are those that are heavy. Milk, cream, cheese and meat all carry an additional shipping fee. Produce is also tricky, as a 10 lb. bag of potatoes may run $8 at Fred Meyer, but then costs another $12 just to get them here. Also, freshness is not guaranteed, so if your bananas get frozen on the way out, you just deal with it! We’ve made a lot of skillet banana bread since we’ve arrived in Kaltag.

Our last order from Fred Meyer carried the following breakdown:

Total Order:

Original Item Total: $385.03

Coupons/Sales: -$98.40 (Yes, we have learned to buy what’s on sale. Organic chicken at buy 1 get one free? Yes, please, I’ll take 10! Tillamook cheese ½ off…yes, yes, yes!)

Other Fees (Packing and Shipping to Wright): $56.57

Order Total: $343.20

Shipping to Kaltag (83 Lbs @ 1.30/lb): $107.90

Total Cost of Grocery Order: $451.10

At this point, you are probably thinking there must be other options. Well, for some items there are, but for a lot of items, not so much. We do have a local Co-op store, but they have the same costs associated with getting their products, plus they add a markup. The prices there are not ideal (think $8.00 for a package of Ritz crackers, $2.75 for a can of soda). It’s really an in-a-pinch option.

Amazon does service the village. So, theoretically, most items you can get on Amazon, you can get here in Kaltag. However, here’s the rub…if you order here, you’re not looking at any sort of 2-Day Shipping…even if you’re a Prime member. Here, you’re looking at a 1-3 month shipping time frame. Yes, you read that correctly; a 1-month turnaround from order to delivery is a quick shipment here. Usually, you’re looking at a two-month turn around. We still have Christmas gifts, ordered in November, making their way through the shipping process. We keep joking with our kids that we’re just going to have to have rolling holidays from now on. Rolling Christmases, rolling birthdays, rolling anniversaries, as we have grown accustomed to celebrating any time anything comes in. It really is kind of funny…here, it’s a big deal when you get mail.

On that note, I must stop and thank all of those who have shipped stuff to us. For so many reasons, it brightens our entire week. Not only did we get mail, but we also got a gift from a friend…what did we get!?!?! It’s been a lot of fun. We can’t thank all of you enough.

Like I said, Amazon is an option and we’ve used it for dry goods and household goods. Campbell’s soup, hot chocolate, shampoo/conditioner, hand soaps, lotions, personal items, etc., we’ve relied on Amazon for. However, for groceries, or any emergency items, Amazon isn’t a reliable go-to.

Outside of those options, we can walk outside and forage. We’ve had several items given to us since we’ve arrived. We’ve had moose, lush fish (also known as Burbot), several kinds of dried meat (don’t ask), salmon berries, wild blueberries, and today we had a student bring by a Ptarmigan he hit with his snow machine. True story…he brought it by, processed it, cooked it, and literally served its heart on a platter for Ash and I! We've edited the photo for his privacy, but there's a proud smile under that circle.

The teacher is the student

There's a smile under there...

When I started this post, I had in mind to talk about several things, but it seems I’ve spent a lot of words already just on groceries. It may be best to save other experiences for another post.

To all those following our adventures, we thank you. To those who continue to support us, we thank you. To my parents, my family, our friends, who continue to ship random surprises in the mail, we thank you. For those keeping us in your thought and prayers, we thank you. I don’t have time here to discuss details, but there’s a lot of good here in Kaltag, and recent tragedies have rendered the village hurt, and in need of healing. We continue to learn and grow as we attempt to be a small part of that process.

All the best,

Philip

Also this week...Philip and Josh got to help pull up a fishing line. We are looking forward to mastering this method of fishing ourselves!

Helping pull up a fishing line

Josh examining the catch

It's a pike!