Manitoba investing $1.3M to strengthen northern food security

Fruit

The Manitoba government is investing $1.3 million to strengthen food security in the province’s north.

Indigenous Reconciliation and Northern Relations Minister Alan Lagimodiere announced the investment on Wednesday. He said the money will go to the Northern Healthy Foods Initiative (NHFI), which partners on food security projects and helps community-led initiatives.

Lagimodiere explained that the NHFI helps to develop programs that create resources, opportunities and education around local food systems.

“Our government is committed to support local and regional activities that contribute to the development of culturally relevant and sustainable healthy food systems in the north,” he said in a news release.

The NHFI works with partners to deliver food security projects in northern and remote communities.

These organizations include Bayline Regional Roundtable, Four Arrows Regional Health Authority, Frontier School Division, Food Matters Manitoba, and the Northern Association of Community Councils.

The NHFI also supports initiatives through partnerships with the Northern Manitoba Food, Culture and Community Collaborative, and the Child Nutrition Council of Manitoba.

The initiatives target communities in more than 80 per cent of Manitoba.