The impacts of the Nutrition North Canada program on the accessibility and affordability of perishable, nutritious foods among eligible communities: a scoping review

• Published in: International Journal of Circumpolar Health
• Main Authors: Jason Edward Pagaduan, Calin Lazarescu, Eric Vallieres, Kelly Skinner, Alexandra M.E. Zuckermann, Leanne Idzerda
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024
• Subjects: Nutrition North Canada; food security; food program; food sovereignty; Northern Canada; Indigenous peoples; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Circumpolar Health; International Journal of Circumpolar Health
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2024.2313255; https://doaj.org/article/e7f9177eec4f402d8c5c7c49c1e5fe14

ABSTRACTThe Nutrition North Canada (NNC) program, introduced in April 2011 is a federal strategy to improve access to perishable, nutritious foods for remote and isolated communities in northern Canada by subsidising retailers to provide price reductions at the point of purchase. As of March 2023, 123 communities are eligible for the program. To evaluate existing evidence and research on the NNC program to inform policy decisions to improve the effectiveness of NNC. A scoping review of peer-reviewed articles was conducted in ten databases along with a supplemental grey literature search of government and non-government reports published between 2011 and 2022. The search yielded 172 publications for screening, of which 42 were included in the analysis. Narrative thematic evidence synthesis yielded 104 critiques and 341 recommendations of the NNC program across eight themes. The most-identified recommendations focus on transparency, communication, and support for harvesting, hunting, and community food initiatives. This review highlights recommendations informed by the literature to address critiques of the NNC program to improve food security, increase access to perishable and non-perishable items, and support community-based food initiatives among eligible communities. The review also identifies priority areas for future policy directions such as additional support for education initiatives, communication and transparency amidst program changes, and food price regulations.