Some Inuit mothers in Nunavut are going without so that their children can eat, says a researcher looking into the universal food voucher program formerly utilized through Inuit Child First Initiative.

Researchers studying the effects of a former universal food voucher program in Nunavut are hearing about the stark realities of hunger in the territory.

“I hear people saying things like, ‘We eat once a day,’” said lead researcher Vandna Sinha.

The study began two years ago and is paid for by Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. It’s led by Qupanuaq, which uses Inuit Child First Initiative money to fund local programs in Nunavut’s Qikiqtaaluk Region.

Sinha said some mothers are going without food so their children can eat.

“You hear things like, ‘I’m OK if I have coffee,’” she said.

The universal food voucher program ran from fiscal year 2023-24 until March 31, 2025.

While specifics varied by community, Inuit families generally received $500 a month per child 18 and younger for food, while children age four and under got an additional $250 for items like diapers and baby formula.

The money came from Inuit Child First Initiative, which funds socio-economic and educational programs for Inuit under the age of 18, with programs overseen by Indigenous Services Canada.

For the study, researchers were originally tasked with exploring the impacts of the universal food voucher program.

“When the program ended abruptly, we adapted,” Sinha said, “and the purpose now is to document the food insecurity situation.”

Sabrina Maniapik, the former universal food voucher program administrator for the Hamlet of Pangnirtung, said she’s heard first-hand about people’s struggle with hunger.

People still ask her when the universal program will return.

The latest phase of the study started in October and should wrap up in February.

Final study results are to be released in the spring. Nunatsiaq News contacted NTI to ask how it will use the study results, but did not receive a response.

Before the universal food voucher program was started, individual families could apply for “grocery supports,” Sinha said.

“There was a backlog and a wait—families were waiting months, months to have those requests responded to,” she said.

Now, after the universal food program, requirements for the new program—where each case is considered on its own—are very stringent.

They are “worse [than before],” she said, and even when supports are approved it’s often only for a limited period.

Maniapik agreed, saying she knows of one person’s child who was approved for a month and then had to start the application process all over again.

“That doesn’t make any sense at all,” she said.

Maniapik adds: “I hope that everyone in the community of Nunavut has their voices heard. This is a crisis, we are in a crisis, [people] are hungry for basic necessities.”

Source: Nunatsiaq