(Thunder Bay, ON, August 17, 2022) – Yesterday, participants from the health and community sectors came together to taste firsthand the possibilities for traditional Indigenous foods in health care institutions such as hospitals and long-term care centers. Working under the guidance of four different leaders, each team of participants cooked a dish representing a different Indigenous community:
Gloria Ranger (Cultural Resource Coordinator, Thunder Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre), presenting cuisine featuring wild rice
Moe Mathieu (chef, permaculturist, and Director, Retail Production & Procurement at Saskatchewan Health Authority), presenting Métis cuisine featuring bison
Sherry Lee Penney (Executive Operations Officer, NunatuKavut) and Roxanne Notley (Food Security Coordinator, NunatuKavut), presenting Inuit cuisine featuring char and fire baked bannock
Margaret Edgars (Elder), Jenny Cross (Traditional Knowledge Keeper) and Shelly Crack (dietitian at Northern Health) presenting Haida Gwaii cuisine featuring smoked salmon
Photo credit: Rachel Cheng
The workshop was part of Nourish’s weeklong event around food sovereignty in health care. All the participants were part of the Nourish Anchor Cohort, which brings together leaders from across the country to see food as a way to build health for both people and the planet. Reflecting these values, ingredients were often sourced locally in Thunder Bay, and recipes were created to highlight fresh, delicious ingredients which could be served in a health care setting.
"We are honoured to support the First Nation, Métis, and Inuit community leaders who are drawing on their traditional knowledge to support the healing of patients in institutions that have too often been sites of violence and trauma. These chefs and the organizations they represent are part of the growing movement of leaders who understand that food is medicine, and who are brokering powerful relationships between their communities and institutions to bring traditional food to health care," explained Nourish co-director, Hayley Lapalme.
The workshop is also connected to Nourish’s Food is Our Medicine Action Learning Series, an online course and library of resources for health care professionals. “There are such complex relationships between food, reconciliation, healing, and health care. Our hope is for people to understand the importance of traditional foods in health care for Indigenous communities,” said Mair Greenfield, the Indigenous Program Manager for Nourish.
Photo credit: Robin Speedie, Joshua Smee
CONTACT INFORMATION
Rachel Cheng, Communications Manager, Nourish Leadership, rcheng@nourishleadership.ca
ABOUT NOURISH LEADERSHIP
Nourish Leadership aims to use the power of food to build health for people and the planet. We are a national non-profit organization empowering healthcare leadership in climate action and health equity. We work across community, institutional, and policy scales to steward innovation to transition to a more preventative, equitable, sustainable health system.