This study asked if in the last 12 months: was healthy food was accessible and affordable to people (Household Food

1. Growing a sustainable food system at Leaf Rapids, Manitoba AsfiaGulrukhKamal, Mariah Mailman and Shirley Thompson Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba s_thompson@cc.umanitoba.ca Keith Anderson and his niece are gardening. In 2003 Keith and Chuck Stensgard helped 30 families in Leaf Rapids to start gardening. Most of those families are growing flowers and vegetable. Leaf Rapids community involvement in gardening and healthy living. Community people getting plants from Leaf Rapids school greenhouse. 23% of households cut the size of children’s meals and 20% of households had children who skipped meals. Background Leaf Rapids was founded in 1971 as a mining community and now the majority of the population are First Nation people relocated from the surrounding communities. Unlike many other northern communities, it has great infrastructure and facilities to quickly evolve with the healthy food initiatives. For example, Leaf Rapids has a large centralized complex with many businesses, educational health and recreational facilities as well as a health center promoting healthy life styles. Another important component is the community owns its own Co-op grocery store that is a beneficial factor in the distribution and promotion of healthy food. Leaf Rapids is privileged to have a large school with planting rooms, green houses and several large indoor and outdoor growing areas. Under the supervision of Frontier School Division’s regional gardening coordinator, Leaf Rapids school is providing various gardening and planting facilities to school students and community members, as well as to other communities. Households often (11%) and sometimes (33%) ran out of food and didn’t have money to buy more. 56% of households often or sometimes couldn’t feed children enough because there wasn’t enough money to buy food. • This study asked if in the last 12 months: • was healthy food was accessible and affordable to people (Household Food Security Survey)? • what were the barriers to putting healthy food on the table of Leaf Rapid’s community members? • what gardening and other traditional methods of harvesting provide food to Leaf Rapids? • what did Leaf Rapids peopleneedin order to eat healthier? Chantal : “I want to be a gardener. I love watering plants.” Methodology A door to door household food security survey and interviews of 101 Leaf Rapids households (random sample) was conducted in June 2009 by AsfiaGulrukhKamal. The people interviewed ranged from 18 to 70 years of age. The survey findings were analyzed by Statistical Products and Survey Solution (SPSS). Open-ended qualitative interviews were conducted in order to get a holistic understanding of the problem and the solutions. Participatory video methods were used to record your stories and community engagement. Amanda: “I enjoy gardening.” • Conclusion • Leaf Rapids is active with gardening activity and the school was an important catalyst for gardening. Children are learning to garden and enjoy working in the school greenhouse. Local food production is important as many community households cannot afford to buy healthy food from the Leaf Rapids Co-op Store. Teachings about traditional land activities and chickens are wanted. Frontier School Division is providing school and community training for gardening but extended training, materials and programs that could make food production more sustainable and generate community development at Leaf Rapids are needed. • Programs and Contacts • Programs are by request to help actions in communities. Contacts for help and supplies: • Northern Healthy Food Initiative (NHFI), part of the Manitoba Government, funds groups like Northern Association of Community Councils (NACC), BaylineRegional Roundtable (BRRT), Four Arrows Regional Health Authority (FARHA) and Manitoba Food Matters to increase access to healthy food and to support food projects. Contacts: JennellMajeran, Manager, Northern Healthy Foods Initiative (204-677-6677,Jennell.Majeran@gov.mb.ca) and Jessica Paley, Northern Healthy Foods Initiative, (204-945-0569, Jessica.Paley@gov.mb.ca). Programs in communities include: • chicken, turkey (with chicks and feed provided but no coop), goat and other small livestock production, • freezer loans for people to buy freezers to store healthy food, • community or school greenhouse and households receiving plastic for building a greenhouse, • provision of vegetable seeds, berry and other bedding plants, and school grow lights, and • an annual workshop in Thompson called the Northern Harvest Forum provides free teaching to northern community members about food production and preservation. • 2. Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI) provides gardening support to communities giving workshops on gardening and chicken production. Contact: Brian Hunt(204-856-9255, Fax: 204-745-5690, brian.hunt@gov.mb.ca). • 3. Northern Association of Community Councils (NACC) provides seeds, plants, gardening and loans tools for community and household gardens, as well as chicken and goats. Contact: (204-947-2227, nhfi05@mts.net or nacc@mts.net). • 4. Frontier School Division provides Veggie Adventure school activities and greenhouse and gardening expertise for northern climates. Contact: Chuck Stensgard(204-473-2332, chuckstensgard@hotmail.com). • 5. Chronic Disease Prevention Initiative (CDPI) provides some funding for traditional activities, gardening and healthy snack and promotes physical activities. Contact: Penny Howlett, nurse, Leaf Rapids health center (204-473-2441). • 6. Burntwood Regional Health Authority could provide community visits of a dietitian to teach community people, particularly pregnant women and diabetes patients, about healthy diets and how to cook healthy meals. Contact: (204-677-5350). • 7.Apply for Green Team, a 100% government-funded program that employs youth to start community gardens, market gardens or help with household gardening. Fill out the application form at: http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/youth/employers/hometown.html. • 8. View your participatory video called Growing Hope at http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~thompso4/Movie.html. • Survey Result • 27% of households often worried they would run out of money to buy food. Food was costly and income was limited. • 33% of community households could not afford to buy food. • 33% of households relied on a few low-cost food items to feed children. • 44% of households weren’t able to buy healthy foods for children. • 56% of households had children that weren’t able to eat enough. • 30% of community households gardened to improve their access to healthy food. • 30% of community households wanted training in gardening. • 4% of community households wanted training for youth to get food from the land and they saidpromoting local food will help the situation. • 6% of community households thought a community garden might help the situation. • 30% of the community people think that involving youth in gardening will solve the food access problem in every way. • 1% households had children that didn’t eat for a whole day. • 10% of households had children that were hungry but there was no money for food. Walter Harcrow said, “I believe in practicing the traditional way of hunting and fishing. And I think we should pass the tradition to our young generation”. Findings Prices for healthy food were too high: 27% of Leaf Rapid households said they often worried they would run out of money and not be able to buy food. Some households had hungry children because there was no money to buy food. People couldn’t afford to buy healthy food. A number of community people were getting involved in gardening and healthy lifestyle but more help and training is needed to make a difference. What are people saying? Manypeople who were interviewed wanted to garden (30% of households). Before the mine closed many families gardened. The long-time community members reported that it was a popular hobby and people competed for the best garden. In 1981 several teachers built a solar shed greenhouse at Leaf Rapids. Between 1981 to 2000 the school sold between 600 and 1000 trays of flowers and garden vegetables to the community people to buy the supplies and materials to maintain the greenhouse. The town center had a vegetable exhibition. After the mine closed, approximately 70% of the families left the community for other job opportunities across Canada. With increasing levels of unemployment, a revival of gardening is needed to a) increase more physical activities for adults, b) access more healthy food from their own gardens and c) ensure healthier life styles for young children. Many community membersfelt positively about teaching some young children fishing and hunting as well as the need to teach others. They thought the presence of people from 14 reserves and Aboriginal settlements in Leaf Rapids makes the community open to teachings on Aboriginal traditional hunting, fishing and gathering. Acknowledgements We thank Frontier School Division for their support, Chuck Stensgard, Keith Anderson, Penny Howlett andCynthia Greenhamfrom Leaf Rapids for their feedback on the first draft of this poster and Leaf Rapids community members for participating in the survey. This study was funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research Regional Partnerships Program (CIHR-RPP). Photo credit: AsfiaGulrukhKamal.