Remarks by the President at Local Stop

THE PRESIDENT: One of the reasons we stopped by along with Ralph is just to highlight the fact that obviously this is a great grocery store, folks do great work, but because everything has to be shipped in, the costs for folks living in Dillingham and a lot of the villages along Bristol Bay end up being extraordinary. You're looking at prices that are double, in some cases, or even higher for basic necessities like milk, like orange juice, like other produce.

That's part of the reason why the subsistence economy is so important and why fishing is so important. But it's also why folks like Ralph and some of the various tribal organizations are trying to do more economic development in the area in order to start making some of these things more affordable, but also having more locally produced stuff that can end up cutting prices and create jobs in the region. So we're going to be working on some ideas on economic development in the region.

But in the meantime, if you need something -- I thought the press corps might need to get some supplies. Feel free to grab something. We're not going to be here too long, though. I'm going to be shaking some hands.

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