Long Distance Grocery Shopping for a Large Family

Family Life
Written By Josh Linkletter

We live 251 km from the closest proper grocery store.

Our community of ~500 people has 1 small store that sells fresh produce, frozen products, pantry items, personal care items, and a small collection of household items. Think of it as a small cottage country general store. But we don’t have the perks of the in-store poutine like the general store by our cabin in Ontario. The store is sometimes well stocked and sometimes poorly stocked. While Josh and I will shop at the store for spur-of-moment chip cravings, we don’t rely on it for our groceries.

We don’t have any coffee shops, any drive-through restaurants, or any restaurants at all. There are a few locals in town who operate as part-time food vendors and will sell a select number of hamburgers or Indian tacos or pizza as they have time and desire to cook and sell.

From 2015-2021 we had to fly in to Whati during March -December. In January, February, and the beginning of March (if the weather was cooperating) we could drive on the ice road. But, in 2021 the Tlicho Highway opened and we now have year round road access. This has drastically changed the way we grocery shop. We also have a much larger family now so that has also changed the way we grocery shop, too.

I like to be organized and I like to cook.

I need to be prepared to cook a lot since we don’t have access to ready-made foods. Josh and I take turns making a trip to Yellowknife every two weeks. Sometimes the trips are lined up with appointments or meetings and sometimes they are just errand trips. We have found using the Notes app on our phones is the easiest way to keep track of what needs to be purchased in Yellowknife.

I have the list organized by store and then for the grocery store I have it organized by grocery section (and yes, these subsections on the list reflect walking clockwise in the grocery store, so you aren’t retracing your steps a million times).

For years, Josh and I have prioritized eating a whole food diet.

We avoid processed foods as best we can (accept for the takeout that is picked up by whomever has done the shopping that day). As the grocery store in Yellowknife has become more accessible we have branched out to buying higher quality dairy products and with the shipping costs improving we are able to buy wheat berries and some bulk items online and have them shipped.

We have it down to a pretty good science but there are times when we forget to add something to the list and then when one of us gets home from the shopping trip and we realize, it is not like they can turn around and quickly head back to the store. We have to wait another 2 weeks for our next shopping day. Sometimes a friend might be going to Yellowknife and we can ask them to pick up the items we forgot. Like just this past weekend I forgot to get a few things from Canadian Tire so I made an in-store pick up order and our friend picked it up for us.

I have learned over the years what ingredients I need that are staples and versatile. This means we don’t need to buy a bunch of bottles of different salad dressings. I know the oils and spices I need on hand to make whatever dressing I want. We also don’t buy pre-made snacks. I have all the flours, nuts, coconut, chocolate chips, oats, frozen fruit, etc. that I might need to make whatever snacks we want. This saves us a lot of money and space in our kitchen.

Reading that back it sounds like I do all the cooking and Josh does none. Ha! He helps out with the cooking, but I really do love it most of the time so it is enjoyable for me and he will help out whenever I need a break or I get busy with something else. He also makes breakfast and coffee EVERY day.

So here is what I have in our pantry or fridge at any given time:

Here is what our shared note looks like. I have figured out how much our family consumes in a 2 week period and you can see that reflected in the list. Some pantry items last much longer than 2 weeks and so they are added to the list as-needed (ie. coconut aminos). We keep this core list the same all the time and just strike-through items that aren’t needed during that specific shop. The shopper can check the items off as they shop.

Yes, we have an appendix. There have been times I want a specific product that is new to us and it is way easier if I attach a photo of it for Josh to reference.

And yes, whoever went to Yellowknife to do the shopping must bring takeout back for the other one : ) The Woodyard Restaurant in Yellowknife has a great Chicken Sandwich and poutine that reheat well.

I love food, I love to cook, and I love nutrition.

This past year Josh encouraged me to take a step outside my comfort zone and go back to school to become a certified Holistic Nutritionist. It will take me a few years, but I am passionate about using food to fuel your body and not hurt it and I am excited to use my knowledge to help others.

Rebecca

Josh Linkletter
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