In the vast, beautiful, and often isolated northern provinces of Canada, securing access to fresh and nutritious food can be very challenging. For many Indigenous and remote communities, it is a complex logistical feat involving planes, barges, and ice roads.
At Gordon Food Service, we believe that everyone deserves access to high-quality, nutritious food, regardless of their latitude. That’s why we are a proud supplier partner with Nutrition North Canada (NNC), a vital federal program dedicated to making healthy food more affordable and accessible in the northern remote communities.
What is Nutrition North Canada?
Nutrition North Canada (NNC) is a Government of Canada initiative designed to help residents in isolated northern communities. These areas lack year-round road, railroad, or marine access, the cost of flying in perishable goods can make prices very high.
NNC tackles this challenge through several key pillars:
- Retail Subsidies: The core of the program. NNC provides subsidies to registered retailers and suppliers (like Gordon Food Service) to offset the high cost of airfare for nutritious, perishable foods.
- Harvesters Support Grant: This component supports traditional hunting, fishing, and harvesting, recognizing that locally grown food is essential to the cultural and nutritional well-being of Indigenous communities.
- Community Food Programs: Funding for local initiatives like community greenhouses, food banks, and kitchens to build long-term food sovereignty.
- Nutrition Education: Working with partners to provide culturally applicable education on healthy eating and food preparation.
How Gordon Food Service Plays a Role
As a partner in the NNC program, Gordon Food Service acts as a bridge between southern food sources and northern plates. Here is how our partnership makes a tangible difference:
1. Passing on the Savings
When we ship eligible products—such as fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy, and meats—to registered NNC customers, we apply the NNC subsidy directly to the invoice. This ensures that the financial support from the government travels all the way through the supply chain to lower the final price for the consumer.
2. Specialized Logistics for Extreme Climates
Shipping to the North isn’t for the faint of heart. Our teams are experts in managing the cold chain. We ensure that perishable products remain at the right temperature while they wait on a windswept tarmac in Yukon, or travel via sealift to a remote coastal village.
3. Supporting Local Institutions
Gordon Food Service works with restaurants, schools, retailers, hospitals, and community centers in the North. Through NNC, we help these institutions stretch their budgets further, ensuring that students and patients have access to the same quality of nutrition found anywhere else in Canada.
4. A Commitment to Variety
Living in a remote area shouldn’t mean a limited diet. We leverage our distribution network to offer a wide variety of NNC eligible items, from staple proteins to seasonal produce, helping northern families enjoy diverse and balanced meals.
Why It Matters
Food security is a fundamental human right, but in the North, it is also a matter of health equity and reconciliation. By partnering with Nutrition North Canada, Gordon Food Service is helping to reduce the cost of the Revised Northern Food Basket—a measure of the cost for a family of four to eat nutritiously for one week.
We are honoured to play a part in strengthening northern food systems. Whether it’s by air, sea, or ice, we remain committed to delivering the ingredients for a healthier future in Canada’s North.
Are you a northern community interested in participating in the NNC program at Gordon Food Service? Contact our team today to see how we can support your community or business.
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