The Canadian using TikTok to educate others on northern food insecurity
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.