Giving Compass' Take:

• The authors share the plight of the Inuit tribe called Nunatsiavut in Canda that deals with food insecurity on a daily basis and how innovation is the only real way to provide access to food for these communities. 

• What can local philanthropists in surrounding Canadian communities do to help contribute to the Inuit tribes? 

• Read about the nonprofit organizations in the U.S. that are dedicated to ending food insecurity. 

Nunatsiavut is a beautiful and unique part of Canada, a self-governing Inuit region within the province of Newfoundland and Labrador that is home to some 2,300 Inuit living along the coast. The communities are small and remote, but very close-knit, dotted between glacial rivers and picturesque mountains. For thousands of years, those living in Nunatsiavut have enjoyed being close to the land, where they have strong family, community, and cultural ties. But in one of the world’s harshest climates, it takes a spirit of qanuqtuurniq—which means “innovation” or “resourcefulness” in Inuktut, the Inuit language—to work together, draw on local knowledge, and overcome the hardships of living in this Arctic region.

Food insecurity is among these challenges. Nunatsiavut’s five communities are inaccessible by road, making them highly dependent on deliveries for store-bought foods that must be flown or shipped to the region. The complex logistics and cost of that process significantly raise food prices. And there is no guarantee that food will be delivered at any given time. The risk of food insecurity increased earlier this year due to shipping delays.

Last year, the Nunatsiavut government released statistics from its “Household Food Security Survey” that indicated that 61 percent of households in the region are food insecure. In one community, the prevalence of household food insecurity exceeded 80 percent.

Today, community after community is meeting these issues with social innovation that draws on the old and the new, in efforts to give more people access to healthy, nutritious food. Nunatsiavut is turning to traditional Inuit ways of sharing and providing, as well as the values of qanuqtuurniq, to combat high food prices, food insecurity, and the effects of climate change.

Read the full article about community-driven food innovation by Annie Aningmiuq & Tracy Sarazin at Stanford Social Innovation Review.