Food Sharing in Qikiqtarjuaq
Monday, January 31, 2011
Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut
Today we said good-bye to Qikiqtarjuaq. It’s been a wonderful community to get to know. We’ve interviewed everyone from patients to health care workers for our upcoming series on health in the North. But we’ve also had the chance to talk to plenty of regular folks about their views on health. Food costs was a top concern; how expensive it is to buy from local stores and how expensive it is to go out hunting for it on the land.
But despite these issues, there’s remarkable food sharing networks going on in communities like these. During this week alone, I saw hunters come back from land and drop off Arctic char for single mothers and elders.
Earlier this week, fresh caribou meat was flown in from a nearby community. The call went out over community radio and the local gym was filled within minutes. The meat was laid out on cardboard that almost completely covered the gymnasium floor. Some people cut off pieces of the meat to eat right there, others cut off parts of it with knives and placed into plastic bags to take home to their families.
