Birch Narrows First Nation and Turnor Lake Hamlet are located 700 kilometers northwest of Saskatoon in an area of rich boreal forest and two tight-knit communities of 800 people from the Dene and Cree Nations.
Like other remote and Northern communities, residents must contend with high food prices and limited choice, making it challenging to access fresh food.
Turnor Lake & Birch Narrows Community Food Centre (CFC), launched in 2021, is the first in the province of Saskatchewan, and one of three CFCs supporting Indigenous communities.
The Centre focuses on improving access to food while preserving and practicing food traditions. Programs range from community gardens to workshops on preparing traditional foods such as caribou, duck, and rabbit, to land-based activities where youth can learn to hunt, fish, and snare.
“The interest in traditional foods is coming back,” says Program Manager Rebecca Sylvestre. “Our kids taste the food from the land and now crave it. They enjoy learning how to prepare, preserve and cook it. We have this land and this culture inside of us, and we’re bringing it back to life again.”