Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Bourses de voyage d'ACI Few qualitative studies on the experience and understanding of food security have been conduct with Inuit in Canada. This limit the ability to develop interventions and measurement that fully take into account the socio-cultural and economic context of Inuit communities. In this exploratory research, individual qualitative interviews with nineteen Inuit women from different generations, occupations and socio-economic status of one community in Nunavik (Quebec) led to a better understanding of food sufficiency, food insecurity experience, as well as coping strategies and community resources to maintain a satisfactory food situation. Additionally, a workshop with elders explored different sensations of food as they are described in Inuktitut. This workshop allow for a deepening of the cultural concepts surrounding the experience of eating and food security. Community participation was ensured by consulting key individuals in the community from cultural, health and wellness sectors throughout the research process. In short, the results suggest that the notion of what constitutes "sufficient food" is built from individual experiences and socio-cultural context, and tends to vary across generations. Many of the participants interviewed experienced food shortage in the recent past. However, resources within extended family and community tend to alleviate the situation when it was transitory. Food sharing networks are an important feature of food security in the community studied. Participants identified possible food security solutions at the community and regional level. Finally, results and overall research process led to some reflections on the measurement of food security as well as methodological considerations for future research.