Non-profit ‘trying our very best,’ in face of rising food insecurity
Iqaluit food centre serving meals at record-high levels, executive director says
Joseph Murdoch-Flowers, executive director of Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre, and Sindu Govindapillai, director at Qupanuaq, speak at a news conference on food security at the food centre on Friday. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
Iqaluit’s food centre’s serving of meals at record-high levels highlights the “crushing” demand for assistance and worsening food security crisis, says its executive director Joseph Murdoch-Flowers.
“We are trying our very best,” he said Friday during a news conference at the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre near St. Jude’s Anglican Cathedral.
The event came just a month before the Oct. 27 territorial election. About 20 people attending the event, including Iqaluit-area candidates Janet Pitsiulaaq Brewster, George Hickes and Gwen Healey Akearok.
On Sept. 17, the food centre served 639 meals. In a city of roughly 8,000 residents, that accounts for eight per cent of the population.
“But I know that even if we’re providing over 600 meals in a day, we’re still not meeting the demand,” Murdoch-Flowers said.
He said the number of meals the centre serves has grown steadily year after year, from approximately 58,000 in 2022 to 67,000 in 2023 and 70,000 in 2024.
As of Friday, the centre has given out more than 62,000 meals this year and at this rate will “smash through” its 2023 mark sometime in October, Murdoch-Flowers said.
It’s a “crushing” number, considering the centre’s meal program only gives out free lunches once a day Monday through Friday.
“But the need to eat doesn’t stop at lunchtime, it doesn’t stop on Friday afternoon, it doesn’t stop on Christmas Day, it doesn’t stop on the weekend — it doesn’t stop ever,” Murdoch-Flower said.
Qajuqturvik’s hope is to one day start also serving breakfasts and dinners seven days a week but that would require doubling the number of employees in the kitchen to about 14.
“No matter how good we are — no matter how passionate — we can’t get people out of the poverty line,” said Dr. Sindu Govindapillai, a pediatrician and director at Qupanuaq, who also spoke at the event.
Qupanuaq is a non-profit that uses Inuit Child First Initiative funding to support local programs.
The end of the Inuit Child First Initiative’s community food voucher program has put an additional strain on non-profit organizations like Qajuqturvik, which are left to fill the gap and support the people who benefited from the federal government’s program, Govindapillai said.
Her hope is that the Government of Nunavut will increase the support given through the Nunavut Child Benefit.
The benefit is $348 per year or about a $29-a-month payment for each eligible child administered through the Canadian Revenue Agency. It’s paid to families with a net income of $22,065 or less.
The Nunavut-specific benefit comes in addition to the Canada Child Benefit, a federal program with a maximum monthly payment of $666.41 for each child under age six and $562.33 for each child aged six to 17.
Govindapillai said that at current levels, the Nunavut benefit doesn’t provide “tangible outcomes.”
The total amount of benefits Nunavummiut get should be at least double the amount other Canadians receive through the Canada Child Benefit, she said, so that it can address the “cost of living differences.”
And still every where u go its short staff cos people dont wanna work? More money doesn’t fix poverty. Addictions and mental health issues are real
Just because people accept something offered for free doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a growing crisis.
It could just mean people are happy to take advantage of a free lunch and save themselves the trouble and expense.
There has been a massive surge of food bank users in ontario that are using for banks NOT because they need to, but rather because they dont want to pay for food. Even TikToks recommending this as a “cost saving” measure, then showing people like-up that drive fancy cars. Wonder how much of this food bank’s clientele is truly in need?
The big problem is that Jordan’s principle resulted in people having excess funds. This allowed them to do other things, which was good, but now that has ended, people have continued with the other things and now have no money for food.
Realistically increasing the CCB will have no impact on food security.
What needs to happen is people need work toward being self sufficient. There will always be people who can’t work for a variety of reasons. But there is no way that all of the 600 people using the program can’t work.
It also comes down to priorities. Smoking is expensive. If you can’t afford food, you can’t afford smokes. So make the right choices
Freebies
You are so right.
Some people can never pass on freebies of all kind whether they could it for the REALLY NEEDING PEOPLE
Come on guys enough of the welfare mentality.
On the other hand kudos to the hard working people who make that possible.
I am sure they can see everyday some people that don`t really need it.
Thank you
To the director of the food bank:
What conditions or circumstances define food insecurity?
Why do those conditions or circumstances exist?
Not to underemine the need for food banks and the hard work these volunteers put in, but I’m sure that for many it boils down to:
Free meal and not having to cook > pay for food, prepare are cook food, deal with dirty dishes
If this type of service was truly means tested, how many actual people would still truly need it?
Food security is largely a function of budgetting how much money you have and what you can afford, Home-made bannock is a quarter of the price of bread from the south, or less, and easy to make as much as you want when you want it. With all its resources, Hudson’s Bay employees were expected to use powdered milk, and fresh fruit or vegetables flown in by air were an almost unknown-luxury, So don’t even think of strawberries or ice cream! Go and pick local berries.
I know many people who moved from down south to iqaluit for employment and use the local shelters and foodbank even thou they do not need do. Let s stop abusing the system and draining tax payers. People are using their child tax to buy alcohol and know they can simply use food banks for food. As a tax payer, I dont want to pay for your unhealthy decisions!
With that many dropping in it would be an unmatched time to recruit for volunteers for anything, elders visitors and helper program, finding extra help in the soup kitchen, etc. Getting started is half of a job! As with the Inuit in Alaska who receive money from the gas fields but no work their situation worsens over time. Info can be found online. Keeping active, employed if possible brings good.