Undergrad students at Memorial University are looking for volunteers to report on food prices all over Newfoundland and Labrador to better understand the cost of key food items in this province.

The study, which is being done through the CLEAR lab at MUN, will shed light on food prices and how they may fluctuate throughout the year.

Patricia Johnson-Castle, the director of policy and planning with the Nunatsiavut Government, says the main objective is to find out why food prices are so high in the north. For example, a 2-litre carton of milk is $5.79 while a small can of tuna is around $5.

Johnson-Castle says volunteers can fill out the information during their normal grocery shopping. They’re looking for price information on staples, which have to be purchased regardless of price, and other items which a person can choose to cut if it’s too expensive.

She notes that one category would be things like flour for people making their own bread, milk, and eggs while on the other side are things you can cut like cheddar cheese. All volunteers have to do is fill out the form—something which she calls pretty simple, but they need people to do it.

For more information about the NL Food Pricing Project or how to get involved can be found here or email Kerri Neil co-chair of the Social Justice Co-operative: foodpricesNL@gmail.com