Canada’s northern food subsidy Nutrition North Canada: a comprehensive program evaluation
Background: Nutrition North Canada (NNC) is a retail subsidy program implemented in 2012 and designed to reduce the cost of nutritious food for residents living in Canada’s remote, northern communities. The present study evaluates the extent to which NNC provides access to perishable, nutritious foo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2017-01-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Circumpolar Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2017.1279451 |
| _version_ | 1819048973148618752 |
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| author | Tracey Galloway |
| author_facet | Tracey Galloway |
| author_sort | Tracey Galloway |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Nutrition North Canada (NNC) is a retail subsidy program implemented in 2012 and designed to reduce the cost of nutritious food for residents living in Canada’s remote, northern communities. The present study evaluates the extent to which NNC provides access to perishable, nutritious food for residents of remote northern communities. Design: Program documents, including fiscal and food cost reports for the period 2011–2015, retailer compliance reports, audits of the program, and the program’s performance measurement strategy are examined for evidence that the subsidy is meeting its objectives in a manner both comprehensive and equitable across regions and communities. Results: NNC lacks price caps or other means of ensuring food is affordable and equitably priced in communities. Gaps in food cost reporting constrain the program’s accountability. From 2011–15, no adjustments were made to community eligibility, subsidy rates, or the list of eligible foods in response to information provided by community members, critics, the Auditor General of Canada, and the program’s own Advisory Board. Measures to increase program accountability, such as increasing subsidy information on point-of-sale receipts, make NNC more visible but do nothing to address underlying accountability issues Conclusions: The current structure and regulatory framework of NNC are insufficient to ensure the program meets its goal. Both the volume and cost of nutritious food delivered to communities is highly variable and dependent on factors such as retailers’ pricing practices, over which the program has no control. It may be necessary to consider alternative forms of policy in order to produce sustainable improvements to food security in remote, northern communities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T11:24:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8e225473494b4dcba1684c445e90a8f5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2242-3982 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T11:24:45Z |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Circumpolar Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-8e225473494b4dcba1684c445e90a8f52022-12-21T19:05:41ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Circumpolar Health2242-39822017-01-0176110.1080/22423982.2017.12794511279451Canada’s northern food subsidy Nutrition North Canada: a comprehensive program evaluationTracey Galloway0University of Toronto MississaugaBackground: Nutrition North Canada (NNC) is a retail subsidy program implemented in 2012 and designed to reduce the cost of nutritious food for residents living in Canada’s remote, northern communities. The present study evaluates the extent to which NNC provides access to perishable, nutritious food for residents of remote northern communities. Design: Program documents, including fiscal and food cost reports for the period 2011–2015, retailer compliance reports, audits of the program, and the program’s performance measurement strategy are examined for evidence that the subsidy is meeting its objectives in a manner both comprehensive and equitable across regions and communities. Results: NNC lacks price caps or other means of ensuring food is affordable and equitably priced in communities. Gaps in food cost reporting constrain the program’s accountability. From 2011–15, no adjustments were made to community eligibility, subsidy rates, or the list of eligible foods in response to information provided by community members, critics, the Auditor General of Canada, and the program’s own Advisory Board. Measures to increase program accountability, such as increasing subsidy information on point-of-sale receipts, make NNC more visible but do nothing to address underlying accountability issues Conclusions: The current structure and regulatory framework of NNC are insufficient to ensure the program meets its goal. Both the volume and cost of nutritious food delivered to communities is highly variable and dependent on factors such as retailers’ pricing practices, over which the program has no control. It may be necessary to consider alternative forms of policy in order to produce sustainable improvements to food security in remote, northern communities.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2017.1279451Food securitynorthArcticIndigenouscommunityfood costhungerpolicy |
| spellingShingle | Tracey Galloway Canada’s northern food subsidy Nutrition North Canada: a comprehensive program evaluation International Journal of Circumpolar Health Food security north Arctic Indigenous community food cost hunger policy |
| title | Canada’s northern food subsidy Nutrition North Canada: a comprehensive program evaluation |
| title_full | Canada’s northern food subsidy Nutrition North Canada: a comprehensive program evaluation |
| title_fullStr | Canada’s northern food subsidy Nutrition North Canada: a comprehensive program evaluation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Canada’s northern food subsidy Nutrition North Canada: a comprehensive program evaluation |
| title_short | Canada’s northern food subsidy Nutrition North Canada: a comprehensive program evaluation |
| title_sort | canada s northern food subsidy nutrition north canada a comprehensive program evaluation |
| topic | Food security north Arctic Indigenous community food cost hunger policy |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2017.1279451 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT traceygalloway canadasnorthernfoodsubsidynutritionnorthcanadaacomprehensiveprogramevaluation |