Minister backs food production efforts
Greenhouse operator left hopeful by visit from federal minister
Sarah Ladik
Northern News Services
Thursday, July 21, 2016
INUVIK
Inuvik residents had some illustrious company at the table this week for the latest discussion of local food production.
Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett, left, takes a tour of the Inuvik Community Greenhouse with executive director Ray Solotki July 18. - Sarah Ladik/NNSL photo
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"It would be interesting to see what comes of this conversation," said Ray Solotki, executive director of the Inuvik Community Greenhouse. "And hopefully it also sparks enthusiasm within our own community to look at the immediate options."
Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett was in town July 17 and 18, in part to announce the extension of the Nutrition North program to 37 more isolated communities across the country, including Gameti, Whati, Wekweeti, and Lutsel K'e.
She also took part in a roundtable session with about 40 people July 18. The session was closed to media, but Solotki talked about some of the conversations that took place.
"We talked about where we need to get better - whether it is looking at transportation, education, training, subsidizing - it was very interesting," she said. "One of the things I took away from it is the attitude of many people towards what we could be doing. We could be selling local food, it has been done before. There should be an emphasis on what can be produced, harvested, and made in Inuvik - and in the communities - not just how we can ship from the south."
Solotki said she would like to see the greenhouse working with the Hunters and Trappers Committee, as well as Inuvialuit and Gwich'in groups to help incorporate more locally grown vegetables into diets, even the potatoes, cabbage, and berries more typical of traditional food.
"There was some emphasis on traditional diets - and how vegetables aren't eaten," she said. "But then, here I am sitting with Gerry (Kisoun) and Kylik (Taylor) over an amazing dinner of local fish, bannock, caribou stew and local vegetables, so it shows that we can change and adapt if it means feeding our families."
The minister made the announcement about Nutrition North at the greenhouse just before heading into the roundtable, saying that it was her and her team's job to "harvest the good ideas from across the country."
"The neat thing about being here is that this is where people come together and take care of each other," she said, noting the beds dedicated to youth groups, group homes, and other organizations.
"This is the kinds of signals communities give that they're thinking about their people."
Even before the roundtable, Bennett was talking about country foods and the need to help people access them more efficiently. She said one solution will not fit all communities and that changing the food security situation in the North is not something either governments or communities can do alone.
The minister said that while the budget for this year had already been allocated, she was "very interested" in taking anything learned in several roundtables in the territory and putting it into a budget submission for the future.
Bennett emphasized the importance of working together, saying that supporting families and communities in this way should be a joint effort between the federal government, territories and provinces, and municipalities.
"It's about hungry kids and it's about dignity," she said.
