$500 for a bag of groceries? Alliance aims to lower food costs in remote northern communties

Sheldon Oskineegish lives in Nibinamik First Nation, about 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, 

He knows first-hand what it's like to buy groceries at northern prices.

"It's worth like $300, $500 for a couple bags of groceries, and I don't know if that's manageable," he said.

He also works with a new program that is working to lower food costs in remote northern Ontario and Manitoba communities. He was in Thunder Bay on Wednesday at a ceremony, where a sacred drum was awakened to celebrate the program's progress.

The event was held by members of an alliance between more than a dozen First Nations partners and food security organizations who are working to lower food costs in remote northern Ontario and Manitoba communities.

The Wiiche'iwaymagon buying group signed a historic agreement last December to work together to improve food sovereignty.

The 13 signatories – which have formed a legal entity – are buying food in bulk in order to bring down the purchasing cost in communities, with support from the Nutrition North Canada Harvesters Support Grant and Community Food Programs Fund.

The project covers about 200,000 Indigenous people across more than 40 communities. 

Tracey Willoughby works for Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS), one of the signatories to the agreement. She is a member of Whitesand First Nation, and attended the ceremony with her daughters.

"If there's an emergency, we all kind of join together, including the food banks," Willoughby said. "It's almost like a domino effect with food and food supports in the communities."

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between:

• Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS).
• Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak.
• Mushkegowuk Council.
• Regional Food Distribution Association.
• Food Banks Canada.
• Feed Ontario.
• Arctic Gateway LP.
• Anishininew Okimawin / ILTC Inc.
• Southern Resource Development Council Corp.
• Sioux Lookout Area Aboriginal Management Board.
• Harvest Manitoba.
• Breakfast Club of Canada.
• Second Harvest.

More communities have also expressed interest in joining the agreement, said Willoughby.

Oskineegish says he feels good about his involvement with the food program, and said he's looking forward to seeing it grow.

"I think that's a really good outcome, and I think people in the community are starting to be aware of this program," he said.

"I think it's really beneficial for remote communities."

Creating healthier communities

Michael Birch was recently elected Grand Chief of Anisininew Okimawin in Manitoba. He said it was important for him to listen to his partners in Thunder Bay about how they can deliver healthier food to remote communities more effectively.

"When you look at jugs of milk being $15 to $20, that's a fact," Birch said. "I truly believe this will be better for us, to find alternative ways of eating better than we're eating now today."

He also wants to see more investments to improve access to traditional foods through land-based learning.

"Complex carbohydrates are cheaper than the healthy foods, and in a lot of ways, our bodies cannot digest those complex carbohydrates — and that's what causes diabetes," Birch said.

"We've got to start going back to basics and living off the land and getting the nutrients from the land — that's the way. But now, what we need to do is find funding in order to educate our people to ensure that this stuff happens."

Tracey Willoughby's daughter, Athena, said bearing witness to the drum's awakening at Wednesday's ceremony is an honour.

For her, the drum represents a better path forward for First Nations communities as they work together to feed their families.

"You feed one of us, you feed all of us."