J-G Grocery delivers groceries north

J-G Grocery in Constance Lake is looking to deliver lower-priced groceries to remote communities across the north.
“I’m working on Attawapiskat first and trying to get more customers from Kashechewan and Fort Albany,” said Stephen John-George, owner of J-G Grocery. “We’ve shipped two plane loads to Attawapiskat so far. We’re trying to let more people know about it.”
John-George shipped the food, which is subsidized under the Nutrition North Canada program, on a Hearst Air aircraft from nearby Carey Lake, located about a 10-minute drive from Constance Lake.
Nutrition North is a federal retail subsidy program that focuses on increasing access to perishable healthy foods in isolated northern communities. The program subsidizes a variety of perishable foods, with the most nutritious foods such as fruit, vegetables, milk, eggs, meat and cheese getting a higher subsidy; country or traditional foods commercially-processed in the north and direct or personal orders.
“I filled a box of fruit for about $80 and a box of meat for about $75,” John-George said. “I made about 20 boxes of each.”
John-George usually ships the food north as soon as possible after it arrives at his grocery store.
“We get our deliveries on Wednesday and we’re trying to get out there by Thursday or Friday,” John-George said.
He opened the grocery store about a year ago after his daughter-in-law, who is from Kashechewan, told him about the high costs of food in the remote fly-in Nishnawbe Aski Nation communities.
“There was no small grocery store in Constance Lake so we built one to try to help the reserve out,” John-George said, explaining that he had first opened up for business as a confectionary store in late 2011.
“We had to sign a contract with Loblaws for five years. They supply our food.”
John-George paid for the changeover, which included the purchase of four coolers, a walk-in freezer, a walk-in cooler and a check-out counter with scanner, with a Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation grant and a bank loan.
“I underestimated the check-out counter,” John-George said. “The scanning system was like $30,000. So I had to dig around deep.”
John-George also renovated the building to accommodate the grocery store as it was ready to be torn down.
“They were trying to tear it down but we salvaged it,” John-George said.
John-George’s wife works full-time as the grocery store manager, while two full-time clerks and three-to-four part-time workers are also employed.
“We’re similar to the pricing (at other grocery stores), but they have better deals,” John-George said, explaining that he cannot match the sales offered at other stores. “I’m trying to keep my meat down to near-cost for the people up north and back home.”
John-George is currently looking to add customers in the nearby Matawa communities.