Food Matters Manitoba is encouraging northern Manitobans to take their food into their own hands by supporting the keeping of gardens and livestock in the remote north.
Last month, the provincial government announced a pilot program, Affordable Food in Northern Manitoba (AFFIRM), to partially subsidize healthy foods in 10 remote communities where those foods are particularly costly.
Yet as other communities await the potential expansion of AFFIRM, some northern Manitoba residents, such as Sam McIvor and Lorna Ross in Cross Lake, have taken food production into their own hands.
McIvor and Ross have been raising chickens and have joined many others in their community who hope to develop a sense of independence and stability when it comes to the community’s food supply.
Other northerners have adopted smaller forms of livestock, with Food Matters reporting a number of enthusiastic beekeepers popping up all over the North.
