DESCRIPTION OF SELECTED INUIT-RELEVANT FOOD SECURITY INTERVENTIONSIN NORTHERN CANADA
PREPARED BY:
Chris Furgal
Associate Professor
Indigenous Environmental Studies Program
Nasivvik Centre
Trent University
Vinay Rajdev
Research Assistant
Indigenous Environmental Studies Program
Trent University
Hunter Support Program(Information based on interviews conducted by V Rajdev)
The Hunter Support Program is also known as the Inuit Hunting, Fishing and Trappers Support program. It was formed under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, section 29. Initially, it was set out regionally to hire two harvesters from each village and additional one for certain number of beneficiaries. However, that program was never implemented and instead a new program was renegotiated and followed the general outline with the general funding, which resulted in a new program. Section 29 was put into place in 1979 and officially adopted in 1983. The objective of the program is to ensure continuous supply of country foods for communities and to enable people to continue hunting, fishing and trapping as a way of life. These are the main two objectives, however, there are 10 other objectives of the program as shown in Table 1. All communities in Nunavik have the HSP under the direction of the village council but KRG provides the funding to each community by allocating funds according to the number of beneficiaries. Each village HFTA has their own way of distributing food. Some store the meat in the community freezer and anyone can access what they want. However, there is some meat like seal and beluga that some communities and residents prefer to deliver directly to households, as the fat is best delivered frozen and animals are often kept outside. Meats are cut into portions so that they can be distributed to many households as possible. KRG - Department of Renewable Resources - and the Northern Villages are responsible for running the program.
An evaluation of this program has not been conducted.
Table 1. Objectives of Hunter Support Program [Adopted from KRG (2009b)]
The following activities are allowable under the Program:1)Hunting, fishing and trapping activities, with the exception of the development and financing of activities contemplated in Chapter VII of An Anct respecting hunting and fishing rights in the James Bay and New Quebec Territories (R.S.Q., c.D-13.1)
2)The purchase, manufacture, construction, maintenance and repair of any community equipment or materials necessary for hunting, fishing and trapping activities.
3)Access to the regions where the beneficiaries may exercise hunting, fishing and trapping activities
4)The organization of search and rescue operations for beneficiaries exercising hunting, fishing and trapping activities.
5)The marketing of products and by products from hunting, fishing and trapping activities, with the exception of the development and financing of activities contemplated in Chapter VII of An Act respecting hunting and fishing rights in the James Bay and New Quebec Territories
6)The domestic production of crafts from the by-products of hunting, fishing and trapping activities.
7)The participation of the beneficiaries in courses concerning collection, processing and marketing of furs with a view to increasing the profitability of their fur trade
8)The cooperation of the beneficiaries in wildlife studies and management programs established to assist hunting, fishing and trapping activities
9)Information and publicity relating to the proper operation of the Program
10)The use of the services of Inuit hunters and fishermen who carry on their trade for community use.
Bibliography
Gombay, N. (2005). "The commoditization of country foods in Nunavik: A comparative assessment of its development, applications, and significance." Arctic58(2): 115-128.
Gombay, N. (2009). "Sharing or commoditising? A discussion of some of the socio-economic implications of Nunavik's Hunter Support Program." Polar Record45(233): 119-132.
Kishigami, N. (2000). "Contemporary Inuit Food Sharing and Hunter Support Program of Nunavik, Canada " SENRI ETHNOLOGICAL STUDIES 53: 171-192.
KRG. (2009a). Kativik Regional Government Report on the Hunter Support Program.
KRG (2009b). Support program for Inuit Beneficiaries for their hunting, fishing, and trapping activities. 2009 Annual Report.
Nunavik Daycare Nutrition Program(Information based on interviewsconducted by V Rajdev)
There are 16 daycare centers in Nunavik. Each community has at least one daycare centre, with two communities hosting 2 centres each. For each daycare center, the boards of directors are composed of parents and care providers. They manage the daycare center. The goal of this program is to provide healthy food to children up to 5 years old (kindergarten). The program has been running for over 10 years and there are a total of 814 spaces in all daycare centers in Nunavik. There are plans to increase the spaces by 240 in the next two years. The Kativik Regional Government has an agreement with the Quebec government to manage and develop the daycare centers in Nunavik. KRG issues licensing, performs inspection, provides the fund to the daycare centers and KRG provides support and training to staff members. Funded in part, through a research program interested in childhood nutrition and contaminant exposure, this program looked at key nutritional needs and deficiencies in Nunavik children and designed menus for child meals specifically targeted to address these nutritional needs and minimize contaminant exposure. KRG has analyzed foods for nutrient content to design the menus as well. In addition, KRG created policies for daycare centers to adopt, e.g. no junk food, no candy juice, etc. In all daycare centers, children receive breakfast, a large lunch and a snack in the afternoon, often serving country foods for these meals. To this date, the program has not been evaluated other tan analyzing nutrient intake and contaminant exposure in children. A nutrient profile, child and parent satisfaction, and contaminant exposure assessment is underway. Beyond this, the program has not been evaluated to date.
Bibliography
Bouchard Dufour, A., A.-M. Hamelin, et al. (2010). "Inuit parents' perceptions of the nutrition program in Nunavik daycare centers, Canada." Journal of nutrition education and behavior42(4): S86-S87.
Healthy Foods North
The Government of Nunavut, in cooperation with a researcher, established the Healthy Foods North programin October (2007).It is a community-based program designed to improve nutrition and increase physical activity for community residents in selected Nunavut communities. According to Public Health Agency of Canada (2009), the program is currently taking place in four communities: Cambridge Bay, Taloyoak, Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk; however, there are plans to expand the program to more communities in NWT and NU. There are two main interventions taking place as part of this program:
1) A store intervention program that includes promotion of healthy foods by providing taste tests, cooking demonstrations and ensuring shelf labels are in the local language (Inuktitut and Inuvialuktun).
2) A community component which includes the integration of physical activities into workplaces and community events including coffee station makeovers, health fairs, school programs, the use of local media, as well as promoting traditional foods in cooking classes and walking programs.
The target group for Healthy Foods North is Inuit and Inuvialuit residents in these communities and the goal of the program is to :
1)Promote traditional food and activities;
2)Improve people's diet;
3)Provide nutrition education;
4)Increase physical activity;
5)Reduce risk of obesity and disease
Bibliography
Cruickshank, J. K. (2010). "Commentary on the ‘Healthy Foods North’ intervention programme." Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics23(5): 469-470.
Public Health Agency of Canada. 2009. NUNAVUT/NORTHWEST TERRITORIES: Healthy Foods North – A culturally appropriate and community-based program to promote healthy eating and lifestyle. Accessed from
Sharma, S. and Cancer Research Center of Hawai'i (2008). Intervention for a chronic disease epidemic: community health initiatives and promotion strategies for diabetes prevention (ICE CHIPS) in Native North Americans, Healthy Foods North in the communities
Sharma, S., J. Gittelsohn, et al. (2010). "Addressing the public health burden caused by the nutrition transition through the Healthy Foods North nutrition and lifestyle intervention programme." Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 23: 120-128.
Sharma, S. (2010). The impact marketing can have on eating practices of traditional communities and suppliers: Lessons learned from the Healthy Foods North nutritional and physical activity program. Accessed from
Sharma, S. (2010). "Assessing diet and lifestyle in the Canadian Arctic Inuit and Inuvialuit to inform a nutrition and physical activity intervention programme." Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics23: 5-17.
Food Mail Program/Nutrition North Program
The Nutrition North Program replaced the Food Mail Program on April 1, 2011. The main goal of the Nutrition North Program is make nutritious, perishable foods accessible to Canadians living in isolated northern communities. The program provides the subsidy directly to retailers, wholesalers, processors and distributors to under write the transport costs of nutritious foods. Also, individuals, establishments (e.g. hotels and restaurants) and social institutions (e.g. schools and daycares) will benefit from Nutrition North Canada subsidies when they place personal orders with registered Southern suppliers. Further more, unlike the Food Mail Program, the Nutrition North Program will begin to subsidize country food, for which they will announce a subsidy rate for commercially produced country food.
The target population of the Nutrition North Program is residents of all isolated communities in northern Canada and the program is running nowin all isolated communities. INAC is responsible for running the program and since the program is new, there has been no evaluation conducted yet in order to determine the performance of the program.
Bibliography
Nutrition North Canada. (2011). Nutrition North Canada: Bringing Fresh, Healthy Food to Northern Homes. Access from
Inuvik Community Greenhouse Project
The Community Garden Society of Inuvik (CGSI) is a non-profit organization. They started the Inuvik community greenhouse project in November 1998. The focus of this project is creating recreational gardening and food production, and building a strong sense of community through member support and sharing of knowledge.In Canada, Inuvik and Iqaluit have the only greenhouses in the Arctic region and Inuvik is the most northerly commercialgreenhouseoperation on the continent. $61,000 was used for building materials liberated from the old Grollier Hall site (inuvikgreenhouse, n.d). Initially, the existing building was left intact and they began converting the hall by removing the tin roof and replacing it with polycarbonate glazing. The Greenhouse contains two main areas: 74 full-sized community garden plots on the ground floor, and a commercial greenhouse on the second floor. Garden plots are available to residents of Inuvik, and are also sponsored for elders, group homes, children's groups, the mentally disabled, and other local charities. Greenhouse members are required to do 15 hours of volunteer service for each plot they rent. This includes giving tours, watering, and taking care of the children’s or elders’ plots. The commercial Greenhouse produces bedding plants and hydroponic vegetables to cover operation and management costs (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2009). The health outcome has not been formally evaluated; however, one of the major challenges of the Inuvik community greenhouse is the high turnover at the board level and among volunteers – this is partly because a lot of work is required to run the Greenhouse, and this work is predominately done on a volunteer basis (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2009).
Target group: General population in Inuvik
Bibliography
Inuvik Greenhouse. (n.d). Inuvik Community Greenhouse. Accessed from
Public Health Agency of Canada. (2009). NORTHWEST TERRITORIES: Inuvik Community Greenhouse – Building a strong sense of community through recreational gardening, food production, knowledge sharing, and volunteer support. Accessed from