Qajuqturvik unveils tool kit to start a food box program
New tool kit presented as part of effort to battle food insecurity in the territory, co-executive director says
The Brothers Wilde perform at the presentation of the “How to run a country food box program” tool kit in front of the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre on Monday in Iqaluit. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
A tool kit designed to battle food insecurity across Inuit communities was unveiled Monday in Iqlauit with music, caribou stew and a country food market.
Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre prepared the 40-page “how-to” booklet in both English and Inuktitut to give community leaders and organizations in the North information to set up a country food box program of their own, said co-executive director Joseph Murdoch-Flowers.
The event was held in front of the centre near St. Jude’s Anglican cathedral.

A tool kit prepared by the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre in both English and Inuktitut includes information on how to run a country food box program. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
About 50 people attended the tool kit’s launch, which featured a concert by Brothers Wilde. Nolan and Ethan Wilde performed at the event following their Alianait Arts Festival concert Sunday.
“There’s interest from other communities in Nunavut in increasing country food access,” Murdoch-Flowers said.
“This is a way for them to look at what we’ve learned and adapt it to their own communities.”
Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre “is a hub of food culture in Iqaluit,” according to its website. It prepares between 300 and 500 meals daily Monday to Friday.
The centre has been running its own country food program for more than two years.
Every other Thursday, anyone in Iqaluit can come to Qajuqturvik to pick up an Inuliqtait Food Box, which contains three to five different types of country food purchased from hunters across the territory.
The price of that box is $125, but the program works on a pay-what-you-can basis and will accept anything starting at $12.50 per box.
Murdoch-Flowers said the country food program is an extension of the Piruqtuviniit food box program that started in 2019.
For $85, that box includes 18 to 20 types of fruits and vegetables with an opportunity to add free-range eggs. According to the centre’s website, one box is enough for three or four people for a week.
Murdoch-Flowers said giving people access to country food is especially important in addressing food insecurity in Nunavut.
“It’s mainly Inuit who experience food insecurity in the territory,” he said. “Food that Inuit want to eat starts at country food.”
The tool kit covers everything from shipping and inventory management to tracking-sheet templates.
“I think this is a really good model to replicate,” said Francine Doucet, Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre co-executive director. “So I hope that other communities find it helpful.”
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