The Canadian using TikTok to educate others on northern food insecurity

WINNIPEG -

One Canadian is using her platform to spread awareness about food insecurity in the country’s north, particularly in her home of Nunavut.

Kyra Flaherty has more than 20,000 followers on TikTok, and is using her voice to educate others on the high cost of food in the north.

“A lot of it is to do with the freight costs that it takes to transport food up here,” she said.

Flaherty noted that food in Nunavut is often double the price it is in other parts of Canada and can sometimes even reach prices that are triple the regular cost. She added that it’s generally fruits and vegetables that can get the priciest.

She said these prices makes it hard for people to access not just healthy food, but a sufficient amount of food.

“Because we’re such a close-knit community, you see it not just in the community itself, but they’re your friends and family, so you see it on a totally other level,” Flaherty said.

THE RESPONSE

Flaherty said her TikTok videos have garnered a “very loving” response, noting there are even some people who’ve been sending her food, which she then distributes to her family and community members.

She noted that many people are shocked when they see the price of food in Canada’s north.

“I think a lot of people are not just aware of the food problems that we have here, but about Nunavut itself, so it’s a very big learning opportunity for everyone because people aren’t aware,” she said.

WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?

Flaherty said she has one idea to help improve food insecurity, which has to do with Nutrition North Canada, a government program that makes food and essential items more affordable and accessible.

“They give that money directly to the stores to help with that cost,” she explained.

“A lot of the time that money is not being passed on to the savings for the customers, so I think a very easy fix would be putting something in place for companies not to be profiting off that money and for it to have to be set on for the customers’ savings.”

Flaherty is a creator champion for ‘Un-Wreck the Future,’ a MadeGood initiative that supports young activists with causes and events important to them. You can find her on TikTok at @arcticmakeup.

- With files from CTV’s Mason DePatie.