Grant: Food Security and Climate Change in the Canadian North

In response to communities' concerns about the health risks from contaminants in country foods, a human biomonitoring project was implemented in the Sahtu Region, NWT (2016-2018). In addition to the potentially elevated contaminant exposure, Northern Indigenous groups face higher rates of food insecurity and inadequate nutrient intakes. The aim of the proposed project is to assess food security and to increase resilience to climate change in the region. To do so, the project will be divided in two components. First, nutrients will be measured in blood samples already collected from participants and then compared to deficiency thresholds. These results will be used to identify the most vulnerable groups in the region and investigate the role of country foods in preventing food insecurity. Each participant will receive his or her individual results. In parallel, the knowledge users will document the food security issue in the community using a semi-quantitative survey. Secondly, the conclusions will be shared with the community delegates during a five-day workshop at University of Waterloo with the involvement of community and academic researchers and knowledge users in food security, food systems and nutrition. A two-way knowledge exchange will be conducted to strengthen academic and indigenous capacity building for the benefit of all. The community researchers/knowledge users will then have the resources to share these findings with the communities and engage community members in brainstorming on food security challenges and opportunities. An approach of de-stigmatisation and openness will be adopted, while collecting key ideas on potential local and regional mitigation strategies related to climate change. This project will support discussions within the community about the challenges to food security, climate change, and possibilities to increase resilience in the region.