Food Insecurity in Inuit Nunangat: Context, Gaps, and Policy Recommendations
Date: Thursday, October 24, 2024
Time: 12:00 - 13:00 ET (12:00pm - 1:00pm ET)
Speakers:
- Lynn Blackwood, B.Sc., RD - Food Security Program Manager - Dept Health and Social Development - Nunatsiavut Government
- Jordyn Stafford, B.Sc. - Nunavik Food Security Manager - Prevention and Health Promotion - Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services
Webinar description:
Inuit in Canada experience a concerning rate of food insecurity. According to the 2017 Indigenous Peoples Survey, 76% of Inuit aged 15 and over live in food-insecure households. This extremely high prevalence of food insecurity reflects the significant challenges experienced within Inuit food system and highlights the magnitude of persisting and interconnected social and health inequities, including poverty, the high cost of living, climate change, inadequate infrastructure, intergenerational trauma, and systemic racism. These complexities have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and global inflation, highlighting the need for an Inuit-led, sustainable, and multi-faceted approach to address the issue of food insecurity across Inuit Nunangat. This session aims to provide an overview of the current status of food insecurity among Inuit in Canada, presenting the Inuit Nunangat Food Security Strategy and its associated implementation plan that sets a vision to end food insecurity and support the development of a sustainable and inclusive Inuit food system. Together, the Strategy and its Implementation Plan outline a course of action for Inuit organizations and partners, including the government of Canada, to come together and address this multidimensional and persistent gap in policy. The session will discuss the importance of context-specific, culturally appropriate, and community-based approaches in developing strategies to tackle food insecurity through specific, measurable, and time-bound policy recommendations and deliverables.
Learning Objectives:
- Review food security status in Inuit Nunangat and its determinants
- Introduce key food policy initiatives to address Inuit food insecurity
- Discuss gaps and policy recommendations to improve food security in Inuit Nunangat
Moderator: Farzaneh Barak, PhD - Senior Policy Advisor and Food Security Lead at Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK)
About the Speakers:
Lynn Blackwood is a Nunatsiavut Beneficiary born and raised in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL. Lynn completed her Bachelor’s of Science in Human Nutrition at St. Francis Xavier University and her Dietetic Internship with the Health Care Corporation of St John’s now NL Health Services in St. John’s NL. Lynn works with the Nunatsiavut Government as the Food Security Programs Manager focusing on the Food Security file. Lynn is one of few Indigenous Dietitians in Canada. Lynn has worked over 20 years as a Dietitian in the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Lynn is a jury member of the Canadian Space Agency’s Deep Space Food Challenge as well as a director of the Dietitians of Canada and past director of the Canadian Foundation of Dietetic Research board. In her spare time, Lynn enjoys cooking, reading and exercise as well as spending time with her husband, daughter and dog.
Jordyn Stafford leads the Food Security and Nutrition team at the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services. Working closely with partners at the local, federal and circumpolar level her work centres around supporting community food projects to strengthen food security through an Inuit-lead approach. She holds a Combined Honours Bachelor of Science in sustainability and environmental science from Dalhousie University in Atlantic Canada, where she focused on sustainable food systems. Jordyn was designated as a 2024 Arctic Frontier's Emerging Leader. Her passion both in work and life, sits at the intersection of food and the environment.
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