The characteristics and experience of community food program users in arctic Canada: a case study from Iqaluit, Nunavut

Abstract

BackgroundCommunity food programs (CFPs), including soup kitchens and food banks, are a recent development in larger settlements in the Canadian Arctic. Our understanding of utilization of these programs is limited as food systems research has not studied the marginalised and transient populations using CFPs, constraining service planning for some of the most vulnerable community members. This paper reports on a baseline study conducted with users of CFPs in Iqaluit, Nunavut, to identify and characterize utilization and document their food security experience.MethodsOpen ended interviews and a fixed-choice survey on a census (n = 94) were conducted with of users of the food bank, soup kitchen, and friendship centre over a 1 month period, along with key informant interviews.ResultsUsers of CFPs are more likely to be Inuit, be unemployed, and have not completed high school compared to the general Iqaluit population, while also reporting high dependence on social assistance, low household income, and an absence of hunters in the household. The majority report using CFPs for over a year and on a regular basis.ConclusionsThe inability of users to obtain sufficient food must be understood in the context of socio-economic transformations that have affected Inuit society over the last half century as former semi-nomadic hunting groups were resettled into permanent settlements. The resulting livelihood changes profoundly affected how food is produced, processed, distributed, and consumed, and the socio-cultural relationships surrounding such activities. Consequences have included the rising importance of material resources for food access, the weakening of social safety mechanisms through which more vulnerable community members would have traditionally been supported, and acculturative stress. Addressing these broader challenges is essential for food policy, yet CFPs also have an essential role in providing for those who would otherwise have limited food access.

Eating in the City: A Review of the Literature on Food Insecurity and Indigenous People Living in Urban Spaces

“…Much of the work done in urban contexts focuses on the role that traditional foods play in Indigenous diets and in potentially alleviating food insecurity [62,63,[66][67][68][69][70]72]. Cidro et al [63] make the argument that food security for Indigenous peoples in urban environments should be addressed through improving Indigenous Food Sovereignty (IFS).…”

“…There are various food programs that cater to or are accessed by Indigenous people, including: cooking programs [60,69]; supplemental food programs [61,65]; emergency food programs [70][71][72]; innovative healing programs [75]; gardening and eating programs [63,66,73]; and school food programs [71]. For households forced to rely on supplemental and emergency food programs, concern was expressed about the quality and quantity of the food provided [65,71], and that children raised on foods from food banks and other food provisioning sources may develop unhealthy food preferences [65].…”

“…Food sharing is also used as a coping strategy to deal with food insecurity in urban settings [74]. Multiple studies found that there was a need to strengthen food redistribution, especially of traditional foods through specific programs directed at facilitating the prevalence of food sharing [62,70,74]. In contrast, Kerpan et al [71] found strong food-sharing in their study, including to address food insecurity, and noted that "these methods of food procurement by urban Aboriginal peoples might be rooted in the ways of their ancestors" (p. 396).…”

“…For households forced to rely on supplemental and emergency food programs, concern was expressed about the quality and quantity of the food provided [65,71], and that children raised on foods from food banks and other food provisioning sources may develop unhealthy food preferences [65]. Some Indigenous households relied on supplemental and emergency programs for the majority of their food [65,70], and one study found urban Indigenous people accessed emergency food services more often than on-reserve and rural Indigenous [74]. In part, the latter could be a function of the unavailability of emergency food programs on many reserves.…”

“…The value of food-sharing is important for many different Indigenous nations and cultures and promotes community and social cohesion, as well as physical and emotional health and well-being [63,66,68,[70][71][72]74]. Hospitality and welcoming people through sharing meals is important, even if that dinner is based on store-bought rather than traditional foods [68].…”