Exploring the importance of community freezers and a country food box distribution program in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Northwest Territories, Canada

Abstract

Background: Consuming food harvested from the land, water, and sky (country food) is important for the physical and cultural wellbeing of Inuvialuit. Community freezers are infrastructure intended to support the safe storage of country foods. Further, community freezers have the potential to play a role in food-related programming, such as country food distribution programs. Despite the prevalence of community freezers across Inuit Nunangat, there are few published studies evaluating the implementation and impact of these spaces. Objectives: The specific objectives of this thesis are to describe the use, importance, strengths and barriers, and overall outcomes of the implementation of community freezers in the context of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, and to describe the importance, strengths, and areas for improvement of the Inuvialuit Community Economic Development Organization country food box distribution program as a program run in connection to community freezers across the region. Methods: Using a qualitative case study design, this project involved semi-structured interviews with community members (n=42) who use the community freezer(s) or could potentially use the community freezer(s) in Paulatuk and Tuktoyaktuk, as well as semi-structured interviews with individuals responsible for managing community freezers (n=7) across Inuvialuit Settlement Region communities. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, drawing upon participatory analysis techniques with local community researchers to ensure that results reflect community contexts and realities. Results: The findings describe the importance of freezer space and supplies for storing food (i.e., bins, Ziploc bags, and vacuum sealers) for access to country food, particularly given the number of factors such as cost of gas and equipment that impact community members’ ability to engage in harvesting practices. Despite different community freezer management practices used across the communities of Paulatuk and Tuktoyaktuk, community members in both communities experienced benefits from having and using a community freezer. Such benefits include increased access to freezer space and enjoying increased access to country foods via programs run through the community freezer. Across both communities, community freezers enable the sharing of country foods, enable the storage of larger food items and large quantities of food, and support Inuvialuit culture, way of life, and wellbeing. Challenges with community freezers include lack of communication and awareness about the freezer, reliability of the freezer, ensuring food safety and organization, and the cost and time required for managing and maintaining community freezers. The findings also describe the importance of the Inuvialuit Community Economic Development Organization country food box distribution program. Community members expressed that the country food boxes increase their access to country food and provide support for harvesters who contribute foods to the program. Strengths of the program include the convenience of the foods included in the boxes, variety and the ability to try new foods, and that the program enables the sharing of country food. Suggested areas for improvement include increasing portion size and knowing where and who the harvested foods came from. Conclusion: Reliable and sufficient storage for country foods is an important component of food security in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. This project has made an important contribution to the literature on the importance of community freezers in the Western Arctic and provides valuable evidence for communities across the Inuvialuit Settlement Region seeking to advocate for additional investment into community freezers. This study also contributes valuable information to the ongoing improvement of the Inuvialuit Community Economic Development Organization country food box distribution program, highlighting both strengths and potential areas for improvement.