Subsidized food banks visit Island Lake region amid ‘food security crisis’
Esther Ann Mason felt relief as she filled her cardboard box with a jar of peanut butter, three bags of rice and some frozen vegetables.
It wouldn’t replace the freezer full of meat she lost during a power outage in St. Theresa Point First Nation in October, but it was something.
“It helps. Yeah, it helps. You don’t know the high cost of food up here compared to Winnipeg,” she said.
St. Theresa Point First Nation is among four communities — the other three are Garden Hill, Red Sucker Lake and Wasagamack First Nations — that make up the Island Lake region in northeastern Manitoba.
St. Theresa Point is a fly-in community accessible by ice road for around six weeks a year, leading to high costs at the grocery store.
During the three-day power outage in the community, Mason kept a fire going outside because that was warmer than being in the house. Her family and young grandchildren had no heat, electricity or water and huddled on two mattresses pressed together at night.
Eventually power was restored, but she and many others in the community of about 4,000 lost the food they had stored in their freezers and refrigerators.
Mason lost the meat pack she bought from Winnipeg to last the winter. Hundreds of others lost the meat they’d harvested from the wild and stored for the winter.
“I’m not angry for myself, but I’m angry for the others who are destitute,” Mason said.
“I’m sure they harvested lots of berries, harvested wild meat, and they all went to waste.”
Featured VideoPeople in St. Theresa Point FIrst Nation lost months’ worth of food stored in their fridges and freezers for the winter after a 3-day power outage. Community members say a new northern food bank is helping, but not addressing the food insecurity crisis in Manitoba’s north.
Community partnerships
For just over a year, Harvest Manitoba has been sending chartered planes of food every month to the Island Lake communities — fruits, vegetables, rice and ready-prepared meals.
“The food that they send is healthy foods and something to alleviate the [cost of] groceries for people,” said Clarence Mason in St. Theresa Point First Nation, who’s the Island Lakes Tribal Council social development adviser.
The food bank program, which started last year, is the result of a partnership between the tribal council (Anishinininew Okimawin) and Harvest Manitoba, using the federal Nutrition North subsidy program to help offset the high cost of groceries in the north. The subsidy is applied to some grocery items and goods shipped by air, ice road, barge or sealift in some northern communities.
The food bank help is just one of the initiatives Mason has been working on to make healthy food more accessible to his community. He also helps co-ordinate the federal harvesters support grant, which compensates hunters for gasoline, equipment and other costs.
“I don’t call it a handout, I call it a crisis … a food security crisis,” said Mason, who also lost a freezer full of moose meat during the power outage.
Monthly food banks
Vince Barletta, president and CEO of Harvest Manitoba, said it’s the first food bank in Canada to get the same Nutrition North subsidy that the Northern store gets on its freight costs, allowing Harvest Manitoba to send food north by air or ice road monthly at a fraction of the price — the same regularity as it serves 46 other communities in Manitoba.
“We are getting a subsidy for each kilogram of food that we bring up, which is an absolute game changer for us,” he said.
Food was distributed to about 300 families at the food bank in St. Theresa Point First Nation in October, he said.
About 120,000 pounds of food have been delivered to the Island Lake communities since last year.
“We’re hopeful that as we work with more Indigenous leaders and more partners across the north that we can bring this food to additional northern communities in the years ahead.”
Pricey items
Inside the Northern store, owned by the North West Company, a small jar of pickles was $12.49, two wheels of garlic sausage was $31.69 and a case of pop was $32 in late October.
But foods that receive the Nutrition North subsidy are cheaper — two litres of milk was $6.19 and 500 grams of ground beef was about $10.
Janaya Harper stopped at the Northern store in Wasagamack First Nation, an Island Lake community without an airport that’s accessible only by boat and ice road, to buy bread, which is about $5.
“I think they’re [the prices] way too high, because sometimes families can barely afford things for their families, and sometimes it’s really hard,” she said.
“I think it would be very great if things were more affordable.”
The manager of the Northern store in St. Theresa Point said the biggest challenge in keeping prices down is the cost of freight.
Murray Thomas said he brings in as much as possible by ice road in the winter, then stores goods in warehouses for as long as possible. The Nutrition North subsidy definitely helps lower the price he charges, he said.
“Which is kind of fantastic — if you look at 20 years ago, before this subsidy came in, we hardly sold any perishable products in the north because of the expense to it.”
But some products — pop, for example — aren’t subsidized, despite being in high demand.
“The cost to get that here on an aircraft plane is astronomical,” Thomas said. “Winter road, we bring it in, it runs about $22 a case” (rather than the $32 price in October).
During the power outage, Thomas provided a curbside service for people to get what they needed and gave away all the meat in the store’s freezers, which was just part of giving back to the community that has always welcomed him, he said.
“This time of the year, they’re filling their freezers with their fall hunting, their moose and all that, so it’s very unfortunate that they lost that,” he said.
Featured VideoDuring a 72-hour power outage, Murray Thomas, who manages the Northern Store in St. Theresa Point First Nation, stepped up to help his community who he says is always there for him.
Looking forward
Esther Ann Mason said despite the help, she’s angry. No one in the community was reimbursed for the spoiled meat and this winter will be a struggle.
“If I had the authority, I would do something about it. I know I would,” she said.
A recent spike in cargo prices with Perimeter Airlines isn’t helping either, since she was hoping to use the service to send more food to her household.
“We’re not rich. Maybe for rich people it’s OK, but us who aren’t rich, it’s not OK.”
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