Breeding food security: RRC grad helps northerners raise chickens, increase economic independence
“The chickens! I don’t know why they’re so popular,” April Slater says with a laugh. “Everyone loves chickens.”
A chicken might be just a go-to meal for many, but for the northern Manitoba residents that April Slater works with, it’s more than just food – it’s a holistic approach to health and independence.
“If you’re able to produce your own meat and you know what you’re feeding it and you know how to process it, that reduces the dependency on outside food,” she says. “Food’s one of your basic needs so you’ll have more opportunity to advance other parts of your life if you know where your food’s coming from.”
Slater, 29, graduated from the Community Development/Community Economic Development program at Red River College in 2013. Today she works for Food Matters Manitoba as the Northern Food Security Assistant, which involves working to alleviate food challenges faced by northerners – including reducing reliance on external food sources, in turn creating greater self-sufficiency.
Raising chickens is one way that’s happening. Food Matters has helped Cross Lake residents raise chickens for a few years, and the program is proving so successful this year it’s expanding into Sherridon.
A chicken up north can easily cost $60, and a watermelon can be $45, Slater says. For many northerners those costs mean providing enough food – let alone enough fresh food – can be next to impossible.
Food Matters currently works in 13 northern communities, including Grand Rapids, where Slater’s grandmother is from. Gardening and returning to traditional foods are other ways Food Matters is working to combat food insecurity in the North. Read More →