Collaborating toward improving food security in Nunavut

• Published in: International Journal of Circumpolar Health
• Main Authors: Jennifer Wakegijig, Geraldine Osborne, Sara Statham, Michelle Doucette Issaluk
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2013
• Subjects: food security; strategy; Nunavut Food Security Coalition; Inuit; Nunavut; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic; Circumpolar Health; International Journal of Circumpolar Health; inuit
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v72i0.21201; https://doaj.org/article/b463c3953b954f70aa6dca8bb2f41f42

Background. Community members, Aboriginal organizations, public servants and academics have long been describing a desperate situation of food insecurity in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. Objective. The Nunavut Food Security Coalition, a partnership of Inuit Organizations and the Government of Nunavut, is collaborating to develop a territorial food security strategy to address pervasive food insecurity in the context of poverty reduction. Design. The Nunavut Food Security Coalition has carried out this work using a community consultation model. The research was collected through community visits, stakeholder consultation and member checking at the Nunavut Food Security Symposium. Results. In this paper, we describe a continuous course of action, based on community engagement and collective action, that has led to sustained political interest in and public mobilization around the issue of food insecurity in Nunavut. Conclusions. The process described in this article is a unique collaboration between multiple organizations that has led to the development of a sustainable partnership that will inform policy development while representing the voice of Nunavummiut.