Jordann Campbell
Final Year Engineering Student
Somya Sharma
Second Year Business Student
Jaewuk Lee
First Year Med Sci Student
<aside> 💡 Judges, Experts and Guests, Team 1-E presents:
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Rates of food insecurity are higher than the national average in Manitoba [1], with Northern Manitoba’s Indigenous communities experiencing 10 times the food insecurity rate of others in Canada [2]. Problems associated with food access in remote communities in Manitoba include limited selection of perishable foods, high food prices, escalating transportation costs, uncertainty of travel on winter ice roads, high poverty rates, a declining use of local country foods, and a lack of self sufficiency.
<aside> 📢 The COVID-19 Pandemic has also created a large upsurge in food insecurity rates in Northern Manitoba due to the reliance on external imports and raise in production, transportation overall and general food costs. [3]
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Ideally, Indigenous communities would be able to grow their own fresh produce by implementing regenerative principles. Currently, these communities are suffering from sever food insecurity due to expensive imported foods and minimal external support. This is contributing to lower physical and mental wellbeing in the communities and the deterioration of the surrounding ecosystem.
The UN Sustainability Development Goals are a call for international action to meet humanity’s basic needs and address global social and economic issues, while understanding the environmental limitations and finite resources. The problem of food insecurity within Indigenous communities in Northern Manitoba addresses SDG 2, 3, and 4.
<aside> 📢 38% of Indigenous peoples have reported poor mental health compared to 23% on non-Indigenous people. This has only increased since COVID-19. [6]
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The lack of food and security within Indigenous communities creates great stress and is a contributing factor to their poor mental condition. Indigenous peoples face greater financial burdens compared to non-Indigenous individuals, which often leads them towards a path of substance abuse. [7]
Who does this problem affect? And who is it important to?