Grocery bus attempts to beat high N.W.T. food prices

Mike Sharpe is doing his part to bring grocery prices down in the Northwest Territories.

He’s converted an old transit bus into the Cash 'n' Carry mobile food store.

"I've lived with these prices all my life and I've seen them get to the point of being outrageous," Sharpe says. "Everybody in the North does shop in the South and they do see the real price people pay... We can do this better."

The bus once worked a transit route in Edmonton’s Strathcona neighbourhood.

Sharpe tore the seats out and installed some shelving.

Now he’s bringing everything from meat and canned goods to the N.W.T.’s South Slave region, from Fort Simpson to Fort Smith.

Sharpe buys his food at retail stores in the South like Costco and Walmart. He says his customers will save 20 to 30 per cent on their grocery bills.

"If my prices bring your prices down, then that's great…" he says. "That's the whole point of the bus. You don't need to spend a third of your monthly bill on groceries. It should be less."

Storefront planned for Hay River

Sharpe says he has permission to sell from the bus in several communities, but not in Hay River where he lives.

He says the town has to amend its bylaws before that can happen.

But Sharpe says he plans to open a storefront in the Hay River high rise.

He hopes the business will encourage existing supermarkets to lower their prices.