Ah, the Yukon. A place of adventure, community, and the summer midnight sun. This is often what’s highlighted in the media, at least; as you may have seen, living in the Yukon has - at times - become quite glorified. While it certainly has its perks, living in the North also comes with its fair share of challenges and barriers. Between a housing crisis, inflation, and a severely limited mental health and healthcare system, these barriers impact people of many different backgrounds. One challenge that threatens all northerners regardless of health and financial status, however, is the lack of food security in the North.

In 2017-2018, a Canadian Community Health Survey was conducted on food insecurity rates across the country. The survey determined that 16.9% of Yukon households experienced food insecurity, making it the third most impacted region within Canada. Nunavut had the highest percentage (sitting at 57%), and the Northwest Territories was the second highest (sitting at 21.6%). Recently, the Arctic Institute of Community-Based Research shared that climate change is threatening our current infrastructures. “Erosion and permafrost melt are literally shifting the land beneath our feet,” they said. They explained how this is impacting our roads, which are “relied upon for the transportation of goods as well as for traditional and cultural pursuits”. Additionally, unpredictable precipitation and decreased groundwater regeneration is leading to more floods and fires - threatening vital highways with more frequent closures. While this threat impacts food security all over the Yukon, remote communities with single highway exits are especially being put at stake.

Sara and David's Research:

We decided to interview Sara McPhee Knowles, the Bachelor of Administration Instructor at the YukonU and a board member at the Whitehorse Food Bank, on the topic of food security in the Yukon. She recently conducted a research survey with one of her students, David Gatensby, to collect statistics and information about food security across the territory. Sara and David held a conference to share their findings, in which they addressed many of the barriers to food access that Yukoners - especially in smaller remote communities - regularly face. This research project was conducted to determine the most effective community supports through the Food Bank, after discovering they provided extra supports to 9 remote Yukon communities during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

During the interview, Sara defined food security as “consistent physical, social and economic access to safe foods in adequate amounts to meet your preferences and needs”, and food insecurity as the lack of access to any of those. Key findings from their research showed that (A) due to limited resources, people were relying on the food hamper as a staple in their diet rather than a side support, and (B) food security is often tied to accessibility for Yukoners, as opposed to being solely financial.

“One of the main themes of other research that comes out around food security is that it’s an income problem - you just need to support income better and that’ll solve food insecurity,” Sara shared. “But in the Yukon and these very small, more remote communities, even if people have more money, a lot of times the physical access to food in those communities is not secure, because there aren’t grocery stores, or their grocery stores are very small, or products aren’t as fresh as they would be other places.” She also shared that due to a risk of personal information being identifiable among the population, government agencies often struggle to collect data from small communities. Additionally, statistics from smaller communities are sometimes skewed, because of smaller population sizes. Due to both factors, it seems that information on remote communities is often misinterpreted or completely inaccessible. A good example of this is Beaver Creek, which due to a large percentage of higher income border security guards may have skewed data, and of which also lacks census data according to David.

Sara’s thoughts on mitigating food insecurity in the Yukon included (A) encouraging more local food production including indoor growing for year-round sustainability, (B) protection and advocacy of Indigenous constitutional rights to harvest from the land while ensuring wildlife is protected and maintained, and (C) programs delivered by the Food Bank to teach cooking and preservation of foods, and programs such as Meals on Wheels to support people with physical barriers to cooking. These solutions happen to be very similar to what Beaver Creek has recently been focusing on, through their Food Sovereignty Program plan.

A Breakdown of Beaver Creek:

Beaver Creek is the second most remote community in the Yukon. It is located 25 minutes from the Alaskan border, and halfway between Fairbanks AK and Whitehorse. According to “Food Security in Yukon: A Snapshot” by Charlotte Hrenchuk (released in November 2020), Beaver Creek had a population of 124 people in 2020. The only local food store they have is a convenience store, which has fairly high prices. White River First Nation runs with little employees in their office, making it more difficult to tackle important issues.

During the pandemic, the office and many food programs were shut down. Ride services for locals were also halted. Due to increased demands and limited resources during the lockdown, any services the Food Bank offered at the time were by request only. This unfortunately meant that extra support from the Whitehorse Food Bank was not provided to Beaver Creek during this tough time. To prevent future accessibility issues similar to what covid brought out, creating a strong local network and food resource development seems vital – which is the goal with the Food Sovereignty Program.

Meesha Wittkopf, the Comprehensive Community Planner for White River First Nation, is developing the Food Sovereignty Program for Beaver Creek residents. The program is a 3-year project, highlighting community engagement, local leadership and responsibility, and incorporation of local knowledge. Currently, the program planning is focusing on community garden activities, cooking and preservation classes, youth programming, community dinners, developing a committee, and more. Down the line, Meesha is hoping to implement resources like a Food Sovereignty Action Plan Development, a cold storage unit, and even the potential for an Arctic Greenhouse and Hydroponic Unit. This extensive plan is something she thinks needs to be talked about more across the Yukon, which would not only add momentum and supports to her already unshakeable passion in this project – it may also inspire other communities to develop similar programs.

Beaver Creek Trip

Caitlin set out on the 5-hour journey from Whitehorse to Beaver Creek for a video project, meeting Meesha in Haines Junction and carpooling back to Beaver Creek. The idea of the video project was to help the program plan gain exposure across the Yukon while learning more about the community. Caitlin noticed a significant difference in the road conditions closer to Beaver Creek, which are being impacted by melting permafrost layers – thankfully, these roads now have stabilization efforts in place. During her stay, Caitlin met community members through video interviews, conversation, and even a community potlatch on St. Patrick’s Day. It was a relief to see that covid’s restrictions were no longer preventing food gatherings, and interviewing locals gave great insight into the importance of the Food Sovereignty Program.

When asking what food sovereignty meant to the interviewees, many responses lined up with what Sara said about Indigenous land access. “Well for natives, honestly to have access to our lands and our game so we can eat pretty good - as long as we have some message, like conservation message, just so not everybody comes in and starts shooting everything off,” Ricky shared. “Just access to lands, our lands, so we can gather berries, roots, and whatever we need. Animals…” Annette added to this point when she mentioned the resources necessary. “Not only to be able to find [wildlife], but to be able to drive there, to be able to have the gas to get there, to cut it up, to have the means for like, axes, and tarps, and stuff that we need to bring it in.”

We asked how the rising food prices impacted them. Gordon pointed out that not only is the price of food the issue. “Oh, it’s the gas. And then the hotel… That’s a $300-400 cheque just to travel. And then the food comes up to over $500 at least per family.” For Taela, giving a reasonable cheque or asking the needs of people living in Beaver Creek was an important topic, as she relies on others’ commutes to get from Whitehorse to Beaver Creek and back – which takes out a good chunk of income for many. Currently, it seems people on financial assistance have no income designated for these large commute costs, too. This highlights one of Sara and David’s findings from their research, regarding accessibility being a large issue. Several interviewees agreed that Beaver Creek needs a grocery pick-up program, allowing locals to order food without the commute. While this would be one way to address accessibility issues, it doesn’t solve everything – ideally, not having to take this commute for food in the first place would be the most sustainable solution. To achieve that, however, community resources like the greenhouse would have to be expanded on.

As it stands, the community garden is helping alleviate some barriers to food access throughout the year, mostly in summer and fall. Additionally, it’s also teaching kids and community members the responsibility that comes along with gardening. Gordon shared, “My kids really liked it, they really had fun. They would get up and go water the plants. So, it was just teaching them responsibility.” The long-term plan to use this space as a food staple, however, may currently feel far-reaching. While attempts to expand on the currently summer-operated greenhouse have been made, no firm solutions have recently been implemented. “We talked about Meesha maybe extending it on the backside there, putting a long greenhouse there. And then we need a well, and a power line,” Gordon continued. A project such as this tends to grow with time, making tweaks and additions along the way. The more expansive the garden programs become, the more sustainable of a food source it can become for locals in Beaver Creek. For this reason, Meesha’s 3-year plan includes a slow buildup of teaching gardening responsibilities and leadership to community members, collectively building a torch they can pass down for generations to come.

Summary:

Across the territory, many resources are needed to provide food security in remote communities – especially ones as far removed as Beaver Creek. Not only this but putting the power and resources into the hands of locals seems fundamental to achieve food sovereignty, supporting the entire community for years to come. Outlines for long-term projects such as the Food Sovereignty Program in Beaver Creek are a huge asset to consider in remote communities across the Yukon, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and anywhere else that has remote communities, to build long-term sustainability and mitigate road access issues to food in the future.

Not only is the Food Sovereignty Program in Beaver Creek spot on for tackling issues Sara and David highlighted in their research, but it also perfectly matches Sara’s insight on ways to solve food security issues across the territory. For this reason, it seems necessary for this program to receive all the supports it can get. If the government were able to fund initiatives such as this in every remote community in Canada, imagine the solutions that could come out of it.

The topic of food security in communities like Beaver Creek are a backbone to a stronger system in the future, along with far-reaching networks across all remote areas on Turtle Island (North America). The only way forward seems to be with the support of community, technology, and – to make this all happen – funding for projects that secure food in remote communities. Appreciating the Yukon for its beauty is a given, but how about we focus on creating solid networks and resources for all Yukoners along the way? After all, there’s a certain beauty in tackling issues that impact us all, by collectively joining forces – a beauty which the Yukon already has, in part, but could benefit from more of.

References:

Hrenchuk, C. (2020, November). Actions. Food Security in Yukon: A Snapshot. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from FOOD SECURITY IN YUKON: A Snapshot

Pratt, M. (2020, December 11). Stories of food, Culture and Community resiliency. Stories of Food, Culture and Community Resiliency. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from Arctic Institute of Community-Based Research (AICBR)

Research publications. Food Insecurity in Northern Canada: An Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2023, from The Library of Parliament