“I grew up in a large family, and I know that accessing food wasn’t always easy for my parents or other low income families,” says Carlene Palliser, former Food Security Coordinator in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut and now Ordinary Member for the community.

“Rigolet is a small, isolated community with no industry, and the cost of living is very high. I enjoy helping people, and felt that Food First’s Our Food NL project could help alleviate some stress that families may have in regard to food insecurity, even if it were for just a little while.”

For Carlene, completing a community-led food assessment in Rigolet, which led to development of the Good Food Box and Back Yard Gardening Programs, has been an important win for the community. “It gave people a chance to talk about food security in general for the very first time,” says Carlene.

“Residents gave input on what programs were offered in the community and how the programs could be improved. They talked about what type of food they preferred and their access to it. They spoke of what they would like to see in regard to food programs in the community. The programs were developed because of the resident’s input, which was great.”

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