Photo: Baker Lake’s a cookin’ community

Betty Hughson of Baker Lake runs a prenatal nutrition project for pregnant women and mothers of infants up to nine months old in her community. At each weekly cooking class, participants learn how to make two nutritious recipes based on affordable, local ingredients such as caribou stir-fry or chili. After doing a taste test, mothers pack up the food and bring it home to share with their families. An elder makes regular visits to share her experiences on childbirth, pregnancy, breastfeeding and infant care with the group. “The women find this very interesting because [the elder] talks about her experience in a traditional context, like giving birth in an igloo or tent,” says a poster on the program, which Hughson presented at this week’s International Congress on Circumpolar Health. The Baker Lake group has also produced a cook book, called Qamanituaq Cooks!, with text in English and Inuktitut. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)