Hungry Iqalummiut turn to the Nunavut Food Bank

The Niqinik Nuatsivik Nunavut Food Bank in Iqaluit doubled their annual sealift grocery order this year to meet the growing demand in Iqaluit and beyond.

During the summer, about 100 clients visited the food bank each time it opened, said secretary Jen Hayward. In past years, that number dropped as low as 30.

March was a typical month for the food bank, with about 129 Iqaluit households getting some help from the service, including 327 adults and 167 children.

Iqaluit is not the only community in need, said Hayward. That’s why the Nunavut Food Bank is available to provide assistance, advice, and in some cases, food, to people who want to start or support food banks in other communities.

Last Christmas, the Nunavut Food Bank got a request for help from Coral Harbour. Luckily, they were able to help, but only temporarily.

“We cannot run a food bank in another community; you have to have someone on the ground,” Hayward said.

“They do 25 Christmas baskets. We do up to 100 people every two weeks. I wouldn’t begin to know how to operate a food bank outside of Iqaluit.”

Last month, they weren’t able to meet a request for more money. Instead, they sent Coral Harbour information on how to start their own food bank, including advice, contacts of companies to ask for donations, fundraising ideas, ideas on keeping volunteers interested and food handling tips.

In the past, the Nunavut Food Bank has helped Cape Dorset, Arviat and Clyde River. This year’s annual trade show auction produced $17,560 that will go exclusively to helping other communities get their own food banks started.

That is, where there is still a need. Several communities across Nunavut already have their own food banks.

In Kugluktuk, for example, the Pentecostal Church has run an informal food bank using community donations for about the past three and a half years.

“As long as we have food, we have it going,” said Timothy Jeske, who runs the church with his wife and lives in the attached house. “People come as they need it.”

The church serves any members of the community who need help — not just its congregation — and has even had clients referred by Social Services.

Kugluktuk’s Pentecostal church is a small group that attracts just 10 or 15 adults each Sunday, Jeske said. On Sunday afternoons, they attract 20 to 40 kids with their children’s service, which precedes a simple evening meal, such as spaghetti or chicken fingers.

The Cambridge Bay Wellness Centre serves about 50 people each month through its food bank, which relies on local individual and corporate donations.

Manager Alice Isnor hasn’t noticed an increase in customers, she said, though she does see a busy period each year when students at Nunavut Arctic College come in for supplies while waiting for their Financial Assistance for Nunavut Students cheques to arrive.

“Although [the FANS cheques] did come faster this year than last year,” Isnor said.

In Baker Lake, Susan Toolooktook runs the Naullaaq Food Bank, which she started in 1992, after a Valentine’s Day “Walk for Love” to Sugar Loaf Hill, which raised awareness of hunger and poverty in the community.

Today, Toolooktook works with a committee of eight volunteers who help raise money and distribute food. Most of the money comes from the six bingos the hamlet grants the group each year. Individuals and businesses also donate food and clothing.

To distribute food, the local community hall is opened and everyone is welcome.

“We open up or have a community feast six to eight times a year, mainly during the winter months,” Toolooktook said, adding that summer provides more employment, which means people have more money.

About 100 people show up at the community hall when it is opened to distribute food. About 300 people attend each community feast.

Yet several communities, such as Taloyoak and Arctic Bay, have no such service.