Bethel grocery prices made my sister question her whole budget

My sister moved to Bethel for a nursing gig and called me last Friday complaining about a $14 jar of peanut butter. I laughed it off, said that's just rural Alaska markup, but she got quiet and then asked why we accept it. She argued that if the state actually funded local food hubs instead of relying on barge shipments, prices could drop by half. I grew up here, I always figured expensive groceries were just part of life, like mosquitos in June. But hearing her break down the per-pound cost of cabbage versus shipping fuel made me realize how much we don't fight for change. She's proposing a community bulk-buy co-op to her clinic staff, and I'm honestly torn between calling it naive and wondering if she's onto something. Would you pay $200 a year for a co-op membership if it meant cheaper produce, or is the barge system just too locked in to fight?

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