Photo: Iqaluit soup kitchen competes for big cash prize

Iqaluit’s Qajuqturvik Society Food Centre and Inclusion Café are competing against community programs across Canada to win cash from the Aviva Community Fund. “We could receive up to $100,000 to help expand our programs. We’d be the first group in Nunavut to get support from this group that has given over $7 million to organizations all across Canada,” the food centre’s head chef Michael Lockley said. But, he also said that Iqaluit’s low population puts the community service at a disadvantage for winning because the contest is voter driven. The food centre serves over 5,000 meals per month and has a mandate to combat food insecurity in the city of Iqaluit. “In the harsh winter we give high-calorie meals because we know our clients need them to survive the Arctic cold,” the food centre says in its online competition bio. “And, we realize the meal they get from us may be the only meal they get that day.” Online voting for the competition, which has multiple stages, started Oct. 10 and runs to Oct. 19. Vote here: https://www.avivacommunityfund.org/. (PHOTO BY BETH BROWN)