Nunavut coalition seeks community-based projects to fund

Nunavut Food Security Coalition hosts a country food feast at Inuksuk high school in January 2013. (FILE PHOTO)

The Nunavut Food Security Coalition is now accepting funding proposals for projects this year.

Non-profit organizations, societies and municipal organizations that carry out food security activities, such free meal programs or cooking classes, can apply for money for projects that:

• Enable community members to actively participate.

• Contribute to the development or continuation of a food security project.

• Seek to reduce barriers to food access.

More than half of Inuit in Nunavut don’t get enough food, according to information from Statistics Canada.

If you want to apply for financial support from the coalition, you need to complete its Community Food Security Initiatives application form by April 20 at 5 p.m.

For more information, you can visit the website of the Nunavut Food Security Coalition, which was the result of territory-wide public consultations in 2010 and 2011 that looked at ways to tackle poverty in Nunavut.

The Makimaniq Plan included a commitment to develop at territorial action plan of food security, including the creation of a coalition and funding for community-based projects.

Today, the coalition is made up of over a dozen groups in Nunavut, including non-profits societies, government departments, private enterprises and Inuit associations.