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IKALUKTUTIAK/CAMBRIDGE BAY - Hunters and fishers in Cambridge Bay are doing their part to make sure the food bank has a fresh supply of country food.

For a number of years, the Cambridge Bay Community Wellness Centre, which operates the food bank, has welcomed donations of meat or fish that have been harvested locally.

Denica Nahogloak, left, and Kalene Epilon cut up caribou with ulus for the soup. The young women are part of a prenatal/postnatal cooking class organized through the wellness centre in Cambridge Bay. The class also makes use of country foods donated to the wellness centre by local hunters and fishers. - Photo courtesy of Kelly Lear

According to Rhonda Reid, director of the wellness centre, the supply of country food helps to ensure the facility has a steady source of food for their clients.

"It addresses the issue of food security that we have in our community," she said. "In our community, good quality food is hard to come by."

The country foods are also an important part of the local diet and culture, Reid added.

"The nutrition from country foods, it complements store-bought food," she said.

"Also, traditionally there is the belief that country foods help you physically, spiritually and emotionally. So we are able to provide traditional food to families, such as elders, single moms, low-income people, that couldn't do their own hunting and fishing."

She said people who have been sentenced to community service can complete their hours by making donations of country food to the wellness centre as well.

"If somebody has community service hours through the court, if their charge is such that they're ok to be around people, they can donate country food to our program and our food bank," said Reid. "Each caribou they get is worth eight hours and each fish is worth one hour."

She estimates about 100 families in the area benefit from the provision of country food, which is acquired in partnership with the local hunters and trappers organization (HTO).

"In the springtime, some of our hunters had some extra caribou meat around," said Cathy Aitaok, manager of the local HTO. "I went over to the wellness centre and got a list of people who use the food bank and single moms or people who can't get out and I delivered it to them."

Often after the sports hunts, the hunters are encouraged to give some meat and any leftover food provided by the outfitter to the food bank as well.

"I try to get our guys to think about people who want stuff," said Aitaok.

She said the HTO also takes orders from college students who want meat but don't have the means of hunting themselves.

"Everybody helps each other," Aitaok said.