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Ashley Juraschka, Michelle Pelletier, Glenn Nelmida, Renee Tipler-Corpuz
Environmental dispossession, increased urbanization and cultural genocide are just a few of the barriers that Indigenous people in Canada continue to face due to the political and cultural violence that ensued through the colonization of Canada [1]. These barriers, in conjunction with factors including decreased access to social, kinship and traditional food networks has contributed to approximately 55% of urban-based Indigenous community members describing themselves as food-insecure [1]. In the context of Scarborough, the low-income Indigenous population is at the forefront of this problem, however, many other stakeholders are also involved. Indigenous Elders, dieticians and nutritionists all play a role in restoring traditional food diets for Indigenous people. Non-profit food distribution centres and local governments are stakeholders who prioritize food accessibility for all. It is necessary for these stakeholders to work together in order to improve the accessibility of nutritious and culturally appropriate food options for the approximately 30,000 food-insecure Indigenous people living in Scarborough [2, 1].
For more information about the problem of Indigenous food insecurity in Scarborough, check out our design brief:
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Our solution involves the creation of an NGO (TruthBox) to resolve Indigenous food insecurity in Scarborough. TruthBox takes a both a long- and short-term approach to resolving this issue. To equip food-insecure Indigenous people with nutrient-dense, culturally appropriate foods, TruthBox will partner with Indigenous community centres to distribute subsidized traditional food boxes. Food boxes will be made available to food-insecure indigenous people and will be filled with traditional meats, grains and produce that has been hunted and gathered by Indigenous people. The proposed long-term solution involves educating Canadians on the lingering effects of colonialism to bring more support to Indigenous issues, including food insecurity. To achieve this, knowledge packages about Indigenous culture, history and the colonial legacy will be developed and sold to educational establishments and corporations that are looking to do anti-colonial work. This will be the main source of funding for the food box program while also playing a part in honouring Truth and Reconciliation mandates.
A limit when tackling issues related to Indigenous people is the lack of available research. As a result of residential schools and the negative history between the Canadian Government and Indigenous communities, statistics on Indigenous people are limited. As such, we have extrapolated the limited available research to approximate the extent and underlying factors of the Indigenous food insecurity problems in Scarborough. If these assumptions prove to not be true, and the demand is greater than the 30,000 people predicted, the solution may not be as effective. Furthermore, we have not had the opportunity to engage with Indigenous community members directly. As such, we are assuming that the success of similar projects to the one proposed will indicate the successful adoption of the proposed solution. Before proceeding with the implementation, it is critical to involve Indigenous people in Scarborough to ensure their needs are being met appropriately. Another key assumption made is that companies and schools will want to invest in TruthBox for the reasons expressed in the detailed explanation. To create a viable business plan, market research will need to be undertaken by business professionals, and will need to be outsourced. We also assume a different definition of economic viability, one with limited market growth. This is done to be aligned with the Indigenous perspective of sustainability, one which allows future generations the use of goods without evolving in a capitalistic, “infinite growth” mindset. Additionally, we assume that the use of existing infrastructure including southbound transport routes and community centres will be possible. Without this infrastructure, the solution will need to be adjusted. Finally, we have not performed any detailed cost analysis given the limited resources and knowledge in our team. Rather, we identified resources and estimates from other projects which could be consulted at a later date to further develop the financial viability of the project.