Northern Food Security

Many Northerners and Indigenous people living in isolated communities lack affordable, year-round access to nutritious food. Nutrition North Canada makes nutritious foods more accessible and affordable in communities without supply centres. At a time of global food price inflation, it is more important than ever that this support be there.

To deliver more of this important support to advance food security and affordability in the North, Budget 2024 proposes to provide:

• $23.2 million in 2024-25, to Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada for Nutrition North Canada’s subsidy program to lower the cost of nutritious food and other essential household items; and,
• $101.1 million over three years starting in 2024-25, to support the Harvesters Support Grant and Community Food Program Fund and promote Indigenous communities in implementing culturally appropriate, local solutions to address food insecurity.

Nutrition North Canada is funded by the federal government and provides access to nutritious foods for 125 northern communities. Its work supports the Inuit Nunangat Food Security Strategy, which prioritizes local food production and community food programs.

These investments have already helped communities in Inuit Nunangat, as well as other Indigenous communities, purchase equipment for harvesting, hunting, and food storage, which means they are able to share meals prepared with traditional foods and have greater food security.

Strengthening Access to Culturally Important Foods

Indigenous Peoples suffer higher rates of food insecurity than the rest of Canada. Traditional foods obtained through harvesting are an important part of Indigenous communities’ diet and culture, making access to such foods critically important.

As part of the government’s work to eradicate food insecurity, Budget 2024 proposes to provide:

• $14.9 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to renew and expand the Northern Isolated Community Initiatives Fund to all regions of Inuit Nunangat to support local and Indigenous food production systems, including innovative northern food businesses, which contribute to food
  security in the North.
• $25.1 million over two years, starting in 2024-25, on a cash basis, to expand the Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program to assist Indigenous communities to safely access shellfish harvest for food, as well as social and ceremonial purposes.
• $2.8 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDA) Action Plan Measures to bolster the policy and engagement capacity among Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Inuit Treaty Organizations to co-develop legislative and policy options to facilitate the production, sale, and trade of traditional and country food.