Global buzz bolsters Nunavut man’s food drive

Michael Murphy of Iqaluit picks up another shipment of donations from Canada Post. (PHOTO COURTESY MICHAEL MURPHY)

Michael Murphy still has boxes of breakfast food donations left over from his Christmas food drive so he’s now planning to send them to school’s outside of Iqaluit. (PHOTO BY MICHAEL MURPHY)

An Iqaluit man is hoping that his recent Christmas food drive will continue beyond the traditional season of giving.

And he just might be able to do it.

At the peak of his holiday hamper food drive, Michael Murphy — who works in a copy shop by day — was on a first name basis with employees at the local Canada Post outlet.

“For a while there was ‘Michael’s Corner’ in the post office,” said Murphy on the constant stream of food orders he made from the South.

But his efforts didn’t stay in that corner.

When Nunatsiaq News first spoke to Murphy in December, his goal was to donate 40 Christmas hampers to Iqaluit elementary schools as well as to raise money for the schools’ free breakfast programs for the start of the new year.

Since that time, Murphy has attracted international media attention and donations have come to Nunavut from across Canada, the United States and as far away as Australia.

Extra publicity from Buzzfeed and Reddit over the holiday season helped spread the word across the globe — and readers took notice.

So yes, he’s blown past his original objective of $6,000.

“I went well past that. I would say I’m probably at about $75,00,” he estimated.

The additional money bought 10 extra Christmas hampers for Nanook Elementary School in Apex — bringing the total to 50 hampers for needy school families in Nunavut’s capital.

And each school’s breakfast program was also stocked up with the added donations.

Now, Murphy has his sights set beyond Iqaluit.

People started leaving messages on his Facebook site, saying, “Well, what about the island?” Murphy said. “So I started contacting [school] principles up-island.”

To that end, he has seven boxes full of breakfast supplies waiting to be sent to communities outside Iqaluit.

“The need doesn’t go away. They don’t have the opportunities for jobs [in some communities].”

Murphy contacted school principles in Cape Dorset, Pond Inlet and Qikiqtarjuaq to work out the logistics.

“I’ve got a lot to get out, my place is covered in boxes,” he said.

First Air is giving Murphy a discount to ship the food.

The outpouring of support, both within Iqaluit and outside of it, has left him humbled.

Iqaluit resident Eric Kan donated $2,000 to Murphy’s food drive on behalf of his daughter, Elizabeth Kan, who attended Nakasuk Elementary School before tragically passing away in 2008.

And another women in Montreal saw an opportunity to connect with her Inuit roots by donating to the cause.

“She said that she wanted to donate on behalf of her parents and brother. She was raised in Montreal and was adopted out of Iqaluit at nine months old but has always identified as Inuit,” Murphy explained.

“I’ve since been in contact with her since she donated and what I’m doing is I’m donating aeroplan miles and fly her up here. It may be a year from now, but this girl needs to come home.”

Murphy is quick to insist that the success of the food is not about him but the children.

That being said, the adventure has put his time in the North in perspective.

“Maybe that was my reason for getting up here, beyond work. This has become quite rewarding,” he said.

“I’m going to keep after it. It’s become more than the breakfast program and the Christmas hampers.”

Murphy will soon ship his breakfast foods out to the Baffin communities, but he wants the food drive to continue.