Growing Food for Healthy Living in Cormorant Vanessa Lozecznik, Mariah Mailman and Shirley Thompson Natural Resource

1. ”. Growing Food for Healthy Living in Cormorant Vanessa Lozecznik, Mariah Mailman and Shirley Thompson Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba s_thompson@cc.umanitoba.ca “People in the community need to change their diet; the problem is generated by the welfare system. The people on welfare receive only one check per month, and most of them shop only once per month. This means they only get healthy food that lasts one week and after they rely on junk food.” “Luckily since programs like the Bayline are taking place in our community, things here changing. We have a rotortiller available to the people who want to garden. I think if in the future we have greenhouses and maybe a plough we can motivate a large sector of the population to garden”. • Programs and Contacts • Programs are by request to help actions in communities. Contact for help and supplies: • Northern Healthy Foods Initiative (NHFI), Manitoba Government, funds groups like Bayline Regional Roundtable (BRRT), Four Arrows Regional Health Authority and Manitoba Food Matters to increase access to healthy food and to support food projects. Contacts: JennellMajeran, Manager (204-677-6677, Jennell.Majeran@gov.mb.ca) and Jessica Paley (204-945-0569, Jessica.Paley@gov.mb.ca). • Programs in other communities include: • Chicken, turkey (with chickens and feed provided but not coop), goat and other small livestock production; • Freezer loans for people to buy freezers to store healthy food; • Community or school greenhouses and households receiving plastic for building a greenhouse; • Provisions of vegetable seeds, berry and other bedding plants, and grow lights for schools; and • An annual workshop in Thompson called Northern Harvest Forum to provide free teaching to northern community members about food production and preservation. • Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI) provides gardening support to communities and gives workshops on gardening and chicken production. Contact: Brian Hunt (204-856-9255, Fax: 204-745-5690, brian.hunt@gov.mb.ca). • Frontier School Division provides Veggie Adventure school activities and greenhouse and gardening expertise for northern climates. Contact: Chuck Stensgard (204-473-2332, chuckstensgard@hotmail.com). • Chronic Disease Prevention Initiative (CDPI) provides some funding for traditional activities, gardening and healthy snacks. • Bayline Regional Round Table (BRRT) provides freezer loans, assists with chicken production (providing chickens and their feed), provides garden materials (seeds and fencing), loans (gardening tools and rototillers) and has a gardening champion in each community. Contact: Valerie Parker in Wabowden (204-689-2063, Fax: 204-689-2355, cedo689@hotmail.com) and Raymond Beardy in War Lake (204-288-4206). • Nor-man Regional Health Authority could provide community visits of dietitians to teach community people, particularly pregnant women and diabetes patients, about healthy diet and how to cook healthy meals. Contact: (204-357-2161). • Green Team programs are 100% funded by government and employ youth to start community gardens, market gardens, or help with household gardens. Fill out the application form at: http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/youth/employers/hometown.html. • Visit “Growing Hope in Northern Manitoba” video at: http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~thompso4/Movie.html. Background Cormorant, as well as other northern Manitoba communities, is concerned about the high cost of healthy food and its limited availability. This matter translates into the spread of health problems such as diabetes and obesity. In this study we show that the people living in the north have problems getting the right nutrition because of the limited access to healthy food, such as fresh vegetables, fruits and dairy products. • Objectives • This study asked: • What are the barriers to eating healthy in your community? • What you would like to see in your community to improve food access? Figure 1. The community of Cormorant needs a store, gardens, and more variety, among other things, to improve their sense of food security. Methods A door to door household food security survey and interviews of 30 households was conducted in 2009 by Vanessa Lozecznik. The people interviewed ranged from 19 to 71. The survey findings were analyzed by Statistical Products and Survey Solution (SPSS). Open-ended qualitative interviews were conducted in order to get a holistic understanding of the problem and the solutions. • Summary Survey Results • Most people (55%) thought having a food store in Cormorant was key to make healthy food affordable. • One in four (25%) people thought gardening was important. • People spoke about how Bayline Regional Roundtable is providing some resources and materials to encourage people to garden. Although a rototiller is available for loan to community residents, people thought a plough would help to allow bigger gardens as well. • 13% of community households think the lack of education regarding healthy options is an obstacle to healthy eating. • 10% of community households think the limited access to healthy food is a huge barrier for eating healthy. • 10% of community households think the high cost of healthy food is a huge barrier for eating healthy. • 7% of community households think an important barrier to eating healthy is the lack of money. Findings In contrast to most other communities located on the Bayline, Cormorant is accessible by road (45 minutes to The Pass and 60 minutes to FlinFlon); however, this road is only accessible for people with vehicles and those who can afford the high cost of gasoline. In the community there is only one store that sells mostly junk food. This is affecting the health of people by increasing the number of people with diabetes and obesity among the children and adults. In the community, 17% of the people that responded to the survey said that they don’t eat healthy because there are few healthy options available in the community. Another 13% of the people said that due to a lack of education, people do not know what is healthy and what is not. . ”The growing season is really short; we need more greenhouses to promote gardening. We have several household members interested in gardening. Further, we need to extend the growing season because it is hard to produce vegetables when the weather is so unpredictable.” Acknowledgements Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research Regional Partnerships Program (CIHR-RPP). Thanks to Ryan Klatt for his technical support. We thank the community of Cormorant, especially Shelly Smith for her hard work and contagious enthusiasm, Beverly for her hospitality, and her son Jim for teaching us about fishing, Edie Turner for her hospitality and delicious moose meal, and all the gardeners for their time and hard work. “Households go to the store and they buy cheap food that last longer, but they do not know that this food is not healthy. There is a complete lack of education among the young parents.”