Family physician Dr. Rebekah Eatmon sees parents in tears, frustrated that they canB次元官网网址檛 provide enough healthy food for their children.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e never met an Indigenous parent that doesnB次元官网网址檛 want to do the best for their kids,B次元官网网址� said Eatmon, who works at an Indigenous clinic in Vancouver and in two remote First Nations in B.C.

Rising food prices have put B次元官网网址渁n even bigger burden on families who were struggling before,B次元官网网址� said the doctor, who is a member of Lax KwB次元官网网址檃laams First Nation on her fatherB次元官网网址檚 side and M茅tis on her motherB次元官网网址檚 side.

As families across Canada grapple with the increasing cost of groceries, a new study says First Nations, M茅tis and Inuit children and youth have been disproportionately affected by food insecurity for years B次元官网网址� to the point that itB次元官网网址檚 an B次元官网网址渦rgent public health crisis.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭he seriousness of this in Indigenous communities is unlike any other population,B次元官网网址� said Dr. Anna Banerji, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Toronto and lead author of the study, which was recently published in the journal PLOS Global Public Health.

Banerji and her co-authors looked at dozens of peer-reviewed research studies, as well as reports from First Nations, M茅tis and Inuit organizations, to determine the extent of food insecurity among Indigenous children in Canada.

B次元官网网址淢oderateB次元官网网址� food insecurity is defined by Statistics Canada as a B次元官网网址渃ompromise in quality and/or quantity of food consumed.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淪evereB次元官网网址� food insecurity is defined as B次元官网网址渞educed food intake and disrupted eating patterns.B次元官网网址�

The data show a disproportionately higher rate of moderate to severe food insecurity among Indigenous people living both on and off reserve, the study said, although people living in rural and remote Indigenous communities in the North were at especially high risk, partly because of extremely high food costs.

B次元官网网址�(In) some of these Indigenous communities, it is to the point where some children donB次元官网网址檛 have food to eat all day long,B次元官网网址� said Banerji.

One study of Inuit children in Nunavik, the northernmost region of Quebec, found that children from food-insecure homes were an average of two centimetres shorter than those from food-secure homes.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 incomprehensible that in a country as rich as Canada that we have kids who are stunted and children who are starving,B次元官网网址� she said.

Moderate to severe food insecurity can lead to malnutrition, which affects the B次元官网网址減hysical, intellectual, emotional (and) social development of the child,B次元官网网址� said Dr. V茅ronique Pelletier, a pediatrician at CHU Sainte-Justine in Montreal and a co-author of the study.

Malnutrition can be caused not only by a lack of food, but by a lack of high-quality, nutritious food, she said.

For example, many Indigenous families who live in remote areas canB次元官网网址檛 get healthy food, including meats, fish, fruits and vegetables, because they are perishable and wonB次元官网网址檛 last long after being transported long distances, the study said.

Those types of food are also out of reach for many Indigenous people because they canB次元官网网址檛 afford to buy them.

That means that many Indigenous children have obesitybut are nutrient-starved, because their diets consist largely of more affordable carbohydrate or fat-heavy food, the study said.

Eatmon, who was not involved in the study, said its findings ring true.

B次元官网网址滷amilies know what the best things are for their kids. IB次元官网网址檝e never chatted with a family that wants to give their kids Eggos over blueberries,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淏ut the reality is the blueberries will spoil in a couple days and the Eggos will stay for months inside their freezer.B次元官网网址�

The long-lasting effects of colonization are driving factors behind much of the food insecurity Indigenous people face, the study said, because they disrupted sources of healthy food such as traditional hunting, fishing and gathering.

B次元官网网址淥ver thousands of years, Indigenous populations have adapted to a diet suitable to their environment,B次元官网网址� the study said. That diet included animals and plants harvested locally.

B次元官网网址淪ome cultural sharing practices involving feasts and ceremonies were outlawed, resulting in loss of intergenerational knowledge of traditional food procurement and preparation,B次元官网网址� it said.

In addition, trauma from residential schools and discrimination has fuelled B次元官网网址渦nderemployment and poverty for some individuals and communitiesB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� which in turn leads to a lack of ability to afford nutritious food.

Combating food insecurity requires Indigenous-led solutions that are specific to each communityB次元官网网址檚 needs, said DeyowidronB次元官网网址檛 Teri Morrow, a dietitian at Six Nations of the Grand River in southwestern Ontario.

Morrow, who was not involved in the study, pointed to food shortages in grocery stores during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdownas an example of how her First Nation was able to create their own food security.

B次元官网网址淲e could still go out and hunt and fish,B次元官网网址� she said, adding that they also picked wild leeks and fiddleheads.

B次元官网网址淲e were shipping them within the community here because people couldnB次元官网网址檛 get to the grocery store,B次元官网网址� said Morrow, who also chairs the Dietitians of Canada Indigenous Nutrition Knowledge Information Network.

Programs that re-establish traditional foods within Indigenous communities are one way of fighting food insecurity, Banerji said. Other examples of success stories include community greenhouses and community freezers.

Banerji and her co-authors are calling for more government support for these types of initiatives, as well as school-based nutrition programs in all Indigenous communities to ensure kids get at least one healthy meal a day.

B次元官网网址淚ndigenous Peoples must have access to healthy and affordable food and our government is taking the steps necessary to close long-standing socioeconomic gaps,B次元官网网址� said an emailed response from Zeus Eden, press secretary to Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hajdu, on Thursday.

B次元官网网址淲e know that affordability is a top concern for all Canadians, especially those in remote, rural and Indigenous communities who face a higher cost of living,B次元官网网址� Eden said.

He pointed to recently announced funding of $120 million for 24 regional Indigenous governments B次元官网网址渢o further support traditional hunting, harvesting, and food sharing activities,B次元官网网址� as well as income assistance of B次元官网网址渁pproximately $300 per month to address urgent financial needsB次元官网网址� for more than 100,000 people in First Nations communities.

The federal government is also working on developing a national school food policy B次元官网网址渙ver the next few years,B次元官网网址� the statement said.

B次元官网网址淲e will continue to work with all levels of government and across departments to address food insecurity, reduce poverty, and promote economic reconciliation,B次元官网网址� it said.

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