Part 8/12:
Bypass mail allows residents and businesses to ship large quantities through private freight airlines at lower rates, but it requires shipments to be bulky and heavy (minimum 1,000 lbs.), limiting its use to store restocking rather than weekly groceries. As a result, residents often take matters into their own hands, flying in supplies from larger cities and packing their own food, hunting, fishing, and gathering wild foods for sustenance.
This self-reliance underscores a significant reality: many rural Alaskans act as their own warehouses, combining store-bought supplies with subsistence hunting and gathering. A typical trip might involve flying to Fairbanks, filling suitcases with groceries, and then hauling them back home—sometimes multiple times each year.