News Releases

News Release - Canada and Manitoba

July 13, 2020

Governments Announce Support for Northern Manitoba Food Security

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Funding Will Increase Food Security and Resiliency in Northern Manitoba: Ministers

The governments of Canada and Manitoba are investing up to $240,000 through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) and $370,000 in provincial funding through Manitoba’s Northern Healthy Foods Initiative to support northern food security projects, federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen announced today.
 
“Everyone in Canada should have access to safe, nutritious food, no matter where they live,” said Bibeau. “By learning how to prepare foods available locally, communities in northern Manitoba will have the tools to improve their food security and nutrition. Ensuring our food security, especially in our northern communities, is a cause that is close to my heart and a major preoccupation of our government - which is why we launched the Food Policy for Canada that is supporting local food initiatives in communities across the country.” 
 
“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused financial stress for a number of Manitobans, making access to healthy food more difficult,” said Pedersen. “Prior to the pandemic, many of Manitoba’s northern communities were already facing distribution and access problems. This project will increase food security and resiliency within Manitoba’s northern region.”
 
Canada and Manitoba will be providing a total of $200,000 through the CAP to support innovative projects that directly increase northern food supply. The CAP will also provide $40,000 to support the development and implementation of a training program to pair communities with provincial agriculture experts.
 
In addition, the Manitoba government is investing $370,000 to support local food production and food security in northern communities.
 
This includes $150,000 to support the Northern Manitoba Food, Culture and Community Collaborative (NMFCCC) to enhance and scale up community-based local food production projects. Grant funding to the Northern Healthy Food Initiative’s key strategic partners will be increased by $220,000 this year to reinforce existing food security programming in northern Manitoba. These partners include the Bayline Regional Roundtable, Four Arrows Regional Health Authority, Frontier School Division, Food Matters Manitoba and the Northern Association of Community Councils. 
 
“Needed now more than ever, strengthening food security in northern Manitoba helps build healthier communities,” said Manitoba Indigenous and Northern Relations Minister Eileen Clarke. “From greenhouses, gardens and poultry to beekeeping and traditional Indigenous food system projects, today’s funding will not only put food on the table today, but will build leadership, self confidence, and strengthen family and community connections for years to come.” 
 
The ministers noted these collective investments recognize and celebrate the efforts of northern communities and their partners who work tirelessly to strengthen northern Manitoba’s food system.  
 
For more information about the NMFCCC, www.nmfccc.ca/.  For more information about the Northern Healthy Foods Initiative, visit www.gov.mb.ca/inr/major-initiatives/nhfi/
 
The five-year, $3-billion Canadian Agricultural Partnership includes $2 billion for cost-shared strategic initiatives delivered by the provinces and territories and $1 billion for federal programs and services. For more information, visit www.canada.ca/Agri-Partnership.
 
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) Local Food Infrastructure Fund emergency stream has provided $100 million through food banks and hunger relief organizations to address food security countrywide. AAFC’s Food Surplus Rescue Fund will make available $50 million to help manage and redirect existing food surpluses to organizations addressing food insecurity in vulnerable communities, including remote and northern communities, to ensure that these surplus products are not wasted.
 
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