Nain mother calls for action on food insecurity on Labrador coast

Harris shared a photograph with The Independent she says was taken at  a store in Nain. The photo is time-stamped Feb. 13, 2025 and shows a  package of meat that appears freezer burned and has a best-before date  of November 2024. The price tag reads $73. It’s not just meat, though.  Produce is either in poor condition, or “pricey to get,” she says,  explaining her children eat fruits and vegetables but often won’t eat  what Harris buys from the local store.

People can become malnourished if their bodies are deprived of  essential nutrients, says Felicia Newell, a registered dietician with  the provincial government. “This can lead to weight loss, weakness and  health issues over time,” she says. “Even if someone’s getting enough  food, they might still be missing and not getting enough nutrients.”

People need certain vitamins, including vitamin A, B vitamins, and  vitamin D, as well as minerals like calcium, iron and magnesium, Newell  explains. Without them, people can experience symptoms like brittle  nails, hair loss, or dry skin; they can have trouble concentrating, or  frequently feel cold. People can also become sick more easily, and lack  of nutrients can also stunt a child’s growth. 

The Nunatsiavut Government says it’s preparing to release a  long-anticipated regional food security strategy, which has been in the  works for years and will contain a number of details about the Inuit  government’s long-term plans to combat food insecurity in the region. 

Nunatsiavut surveyed its communities in 2013-2014 and found that of  the households surveyed, “only 40.7% of respondents were food secure.”  Results from the Inuit Health Survey, collected in 2024, are now being  analyzed. Lynn Blackwood, Nunatsiavut’s food security program manager,  says based on what they are hearing, they anticipate food insecurity has  worsened since 2014.

Blackwood says some of the existing programs are helping, but only to  an extent. All Nunatsiavut communities have community freezers, giving  residents access to fish and other wild meats. Food literacy programs in  Nain and Hopedale are helping residents in those communities at a time  when Inuit are incorporating more store-bought foods into their diet as a  result of the caribou moratorium. “People always had caribou in their  freezers. But now with the ban it’s been difficult,” Blackwood says. “So  they come to a cooking program, they can learn new skills, and not risk  [spending] their own food budget.”

Nunatsiavut is supporting a community garden in Nain so residents can  have better access to vegetables. And in partnership with NL Schools,  the Inuit government is also offering fruit and vegetable bowls at local  schools, Blackwood says. 

Harris believes the inaccessibility of healthy foods is contributing  to poor mental health outcomes, as parents struggle to afford and  provide nutritious food to their children. “I never had no mental health  issues before moving home, and then I moved home, and here I am,” she  says. “I feel like I’m stuck and isolated, and I find we’re really  behind in the world.”

Harris says other parents are consistently posting on social media  about working multiple jobs to try and afford healthy food for their  families. When people begin struggling with basic necessities like food,  she says, they often turn to substance use to deal with the stress.  “Once they be struggling, they turns to substance abuse, and it gets  even worse, and then a lot of people turns to suicide,” Harris says.  “Their mental health has deteriorated, and they just ends up ending  their life.”

Newell says anyone who thinks they may be feeling the effects of  malnutrition should contact a healthcare provider at their local clinic  or a virtual healthcare service. People can also use the free  dial-a-dietician service by calling 8-1-1, she says. After consulting  with a health care provider, Newell recommends slowly reintroducing  healthy foods and portion sizes into their diets to avoid overeating and  becoming sick. This could mean smaller meals more frequently throughout  the day, or soups, mashed potatoes and yogurt or other food that’s  easier on a stomach, she explains. “Everybody’s different, of course. So  it’s really important to listen to your body.”

Harris is planning to track her iron and vitamin levels so she can  see the difference in her body while living in Labrador compared to  other regions where she had better access to healthy foods. Since she  began eating lower-quality foods at higher prices in Nain, in 2023, she  says she has less energy, spends more time in bed and sees similar  issues in her family and friends. 

“If we’re getting enough protein and total calories and vitamins and  minerals and all those things, we just feel better in the short term, we  have more energy,” Newell explains. “We’re able to think better and  make better decisions. And our mental wellness is typically better as  well.”

Harris hopes to see the Nutrition North food subsidy program properly  subsidize food on the north coast, so that  a package of grapes doesn’t  cost $17 to $20, and five bananas won’t cost $25, she says. 

The Nutrition North Canada subsidy is intended to make nutritious  food and some essential items more accessible in northern communities.  The federal government covers a portion of the cost of healthy and  essential items for the 124 eligible communities in Canada—including  seven in Labrador—and requires that for-profit businesses “must pass on  the full subsidy to consumers,” according to the government’s website.

In February, a group of Inuit women filed for a class action lawsuit  against the North West Company, alleging the company is misusing the  Nutrition North program. The lawsuit alleges the North West Company only  uses some of the subsidy it is given towards healthy food prices, and  pockets the remaining amount as profit. It is not yet certified in  court. 

If the lawsuit becomes a certified class action, Harris says she’ll  quickly sign on and go door-to-door in Nain to help others sign up. 

The week after the lawsuit was filed for certification, the federal government announced an external review  of the Nutrition North Subsidy, led by Inuk Aluki Kotierk. At the  announcement, the federal government said the lawsuit did not impact the  external review and it was in the works before the lawsuit was filed. 

Change is needed so people can afford healthy food at the grocery  stores in Nain, especially the Northern Store operated by the North West  Company, Harris said. The external review should also focus on the  quality of the food being sold in northern communities, she said. 

The North West Company did not respond to The Independent’s requests  for comment on the lawsuit submitted for certification and Harris’  concerns. 

In an emailed statement to The Independent, Indigenous Services  Canada says the federal government recognizes food security in  Indigenous communities is a critical issue, but a complex one that  requires working closely with Indigenous peoples. The department says it  has a range of programs focused on health, social services, lands and  economic well-being, and offers funding to different regions for their  unique needs, including the Inuit-Crown Food Security Working Group and  Nutrition North Canada subsidy. 

The department says the quality of food being sold in stores is the  retailer’s responsibility. However, to address potential gaps, the  external review has begun and an internal review is anticipated to be  finished by this summer. 

The DJ Group is an Inuit-owned company that operates Franks in Nain,  Hopedale and Makkovik, the hotels in Nain and Hopedale, and DJ  Convenience in Hopedale. Project manager Donna Stokes-Lane says the  company keeps the markup on fresh produce at a minimum and often sells  it at a loss. She says the company buys in bulk for its three locations  to help reduce costs, stocks off-brand goods for lower-cost options, and  uses wholesalers when possible. 

In June, 2024, local airline Air Borealis changed how it calculates  freight costs for items shipped to the coast, a move that has “seriously  affected” prices, Stokes-Lane says. Even though the shipping cost went  up, the Nutrition North subsidy rate stayed the same, costing the  company more to ship healthy foods to the coast, she says. 

“There is often a large loss to the stores when weather impedes  travel, resulting in produce sitting in a warehouse for days, arriving  spoiled, with no compensation to the stores,” Stokes-Lane explains.  “That doesn’t even factor our cost to bring it from the plane to our  warehouse.”

In response to Harris’ concerns of quality of food being sold in the  north, and photographs showing moldy produce on the shelves in Nain,  Stokes-Lane says it was “not acceptable to be left on the shelf,” and  that the company has asked the store’s manager to ensure produce checks  are made several times a day. 

Lynn Blackwood says it’s exciting the Nutrition North external review  will be led by Aluki Kotierk, a respected Inuk politician from Nunavut.  “I just hope that this external review will actually lead to some  concrete changes, because the community is saying that it’s not  working,” Blackwood says. “Something needs to change and the  communities, I think, deserve to be able to purchase food at a better  price.”

In the long term, Harris says a long-discussed road to the north  coast would help residents travel to Happy Valley-Goose Bay to do their  own shopping. “Where we’re so isolated, it would benefit us,” she says.

“It’s just one bad cycle; it needs to be broken.”