Canada

Excerpt:

Nunavut has the highest rate of child poverty and the highest rate of food insecurity of any Canadian province or territory. In 2022, around 80 per cent of Indigenous children aged between one and 14 in Nunavut lived in households experiencing food insecurity. In 2018, the rate of childhood food insecurity in Nunavut was almost six times higher than in Canada as a whole.

The Hamlet Food Voucher Program, funded through the Inuit Child First Initiative (ICFI), has recently offered some relief. This program gives families funds for groceries to meet the nutritional needs of Inuit children.

However, ICFI funding only runs until March 31, 2025. With Parliament prorogued, plans for further funding remain uncertain. That means starting April 1, many Inuit children in Nunavut may again go hungry. The Canadian government can make sure that does not happen by extending funding for ICFI and the food voucher program.

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Authors:

• Vandna Sinha | Adjunct Professor of Social Work, McGIll University & Associate Research Professor of Education, University of Colorado, Boulder, McGill University
• David Wheatley | Assistant Professor in Operations & Decision Sciences, Wilfrid Laurier University
• Jessica Penney | Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Toronto Metropolitan University
• Nicholas Li | Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Toronto Metropolitan University