How Nutrition North Canada works
On this page
What is Nutrition North Canada
Nutrition North Canada (NNC) is a Government of Canada program that helps isolated, northern communities make nutritious food and some essential items more affordable and more accessible. NNC helps eligible communities through its expanded food security programs including:
- The Subsidy
- Harvesters Support Grant and Community Food Programs Fund
- Nutrition Education Initiatives
- Food Security Research Grant
For a list of definitions for the terms used in the Nutrition North Canada program, visit Glossary of terms for Nutrition North Canada.
Text alternative for Learn how the expansion of Nutrition North Canada is helping to strengthen food security in the North
Nutrition North Canada is a key piece of the federal government's food security response in northern communities.
Retail subsidy: Improved subsidy rates. Extend subsidy to include local food producers, charities and food banks.
Harvesters Support Grant: More grant funding for local hunting and harvesting, including equipment and infrastructure.
Community Food Programs Fund: A dedicated fund to support a variety of community-led food security activities for retail, locally grown, and country food.
Nutrition Education Initiatives: Continue to support culturally appropriate and community-based nutrition education activities.
Food Security Research Grant: A dedicated grant to support research to gather new information for supporting food security in the North.
What is Food Security and Sovereignty
Food security is year-round access, to enough food for an active, healthy life.
Figure 2. Learn more about what food security is and how NNC helps
PDF Version (117 Kb, 1 page)
Food security is measured by key experiences of food access and affordability:
- Easy access and buying of preferred foods
- Worried about food availability or have fewer options
- Cutting back or eating lower quality food
- Eating less and skipping meals
Food Security
Year-round access, to enough food for an active, healthy life.
With Northerners, Indigenous Peoples, and partners, Nutrition North Canada strengthens food security and sovereignty in northern communities through key programs:
Subsidy: Lowers the cost of food and other essential items
Harvesters Support Grant: Supports local hunters, harvesters, and food growers
Community Food Programs Fund: Strengthens community-led food security solutions
Nutrition Education Initiatives: Promotes food education rooted in Indigenous and northern traditions
Food Security Research Grant: Advances studies to improve northern food security and sovereignty
Food sovereignty is the power to create and oversee a community’s own food systems.
Figure 3. Learn more about what food sovereignty is and how NNC helps
PDF Version (131 Kb, 1 page)
- Local control over food systems
- Protection of traditional knowledge and practices
- Rights and stewardship of land, water, and environment
- Practice of cultural food activities
What it takes to be food sovereign
Food Sovereignty
The power of communities to design and manage their food systems, with Indigenous and northern communities leading practices rooted in their environments, needs, and cultures.
With Northerners, Indigenous Peoples, and partners, Nutrition North Canada strengthens food security and sovereignty in northern communities through key programs:
Subsidy: Lowers the cost of food and other essential items
Harvesters Support Grant: Supports local hunters, harvesters, and food growers
Community Food Programs Fund: Strengthens community-led food security solutions
Nutrition Education Initiatives: Promotes food education rooted in Indigenous and northern traditions
Food Security Research Grant: Advances studies to improve northern food security and sovereignty
Food sovereignty strengthens food security by giving Indigenous and Northern communities the ability to choose, grow, and access food in ways that are sustainable, culturally meaningful, and locally driven.
Figure 4. Learn more about how food security and sovereignty are connected
PDF Version (136 Kb, 1 page)
Food Security
Year-round access, to enough food for an active, healthy life
Food Sovereignty
The power to create and oversee a community's own food systems
Food Secure or Sovereign?
Food sovereignty strengthens food security when Indigenous and Northern communities choose, grow, and access food in ways that are sustainable, culturally meaningful, and locally driven.
With Northerners, Indigenous Peoples, and partners, Nutrition North Canada strengthens food security and sovereignty in northern communities through key programs:
Subsidy: Lowers the cost of food and other essential items
Harvesters Support Grant: Supports local hunters, harvesters, and food growers
Community Food Programs Fund: Strengthens community-led food security solutions
Nutrition Education Initiatives: Promotes food education rooted in Indigenous and northern traditions
Food Security Research Grant: Advances studies to improve northern food security and sovereignty
How the subsidy works
NNC subsidizes a list of nutritious eligible foods, as well as certain non-food items such as diapers and personal hygiene products, sold by registered retailers, suppliers, country food processors and local food growers. Food banks and charitable organizations are also eligible for the subsidy.
Since its inception in 2011, the number of communities eligible for the subsidy has increased from 79 to 124. Customers in eligible communities can purchase subsidized food from registered retailers and directly from registered suppliers, registered country food processors or registered local food growers.
Eligible communities can also benefit from the subsidy through food that is donated by registered food banks and other charitable organizations, without profit.
The subsidy is applied against the total cost of an eligible product (including product purchasing cost, transportation, insurance and overhead) shipped by air, ice road, sealift or barge to an eligible community. This means that the price you pay for these items is cheaper than it otherwise would be. It also means that charitable organizations can donate food to isolated communities at a reduced cost.
For local growers, the subsidy is also applied against the total cost of an eligible product, to offset growing and transportation costs.
For profit businesses must pass on the full subsidy to consumers.
If you have a business or charitable organization that operates in or serves one or more of our eligible communities and are interested in registering with NNC, visit Accessing the subsidy.
How to access the subsidy
If you live in an eligible northern community, there are 3 ways you can access the subsidy.
Shopping at a registered retailer or local food grower
When you shop at a registered NNC retailer, or directly from a local food grower, the price of eligible food reflects the NNC subsidy. At larger stores, the savings will be displayed on your receipt.
Making a direct order
When you order directly from a registered supplier, the NNC subsidy is automatically deducted from the price of all eligible items. Individuals, schools, restaurants and small retailers can access direct orders. This option helps preserve competition among northern retailers and provides consumers with flexibility related to special dietary needs.
To place a direct order:
- pick a supplier from the list of registered suppliers
- place your order with your chosen supplier by phone or email
Your savings will be shown on your invoice.
Sample point-of-sale in-store receipt
Larger NNC retailers across the North are required to display the NNC subsidy on customers' receipts.
Watch a video about Nutrition North Canada's point-of-sale system
Text alternative for the Receipt from North West Co, NorthMart store
The image is of a receipt from North West Co, NorthMart store, Iqaluit, NU, which includes the money saved through the NNC subsidy for each item purchased by the customer. Items were purchased on June 11, 2020:
- customer purchased cantaloupe large at $6.49, saving $5.74 through NNC subsidy
- customer purchased carrots baby at $3.29, saving $1.67 through NNC subsidy
- customer purchased peppers mixed at $8.99, saving $2.03 through NNC subsidy
- customer purchased cucumbers at $5.99, saving $1.22 through NNC subsidy
- customer purchased tomatoes grape at $2.99, saving $1.11 through NNC subsidy
- the Subtotal came to $27.75, which includes $11.77 savings through NNC subsidy
NNC saved the customer $11.77 on their purchases. The original receipt is required within 30 days for a refund.
Food banks and charitable organizations
Registered food banks and other charitable organizations which serve eligible communities, without profit, can claim the subsidy for all eligible items shipped to an eligible community, at the same rates as received by local retailers.
Subsidy rates
NNC subsidies apply to all eligible items shipped to eligible communities by air, ice road, sealift or barge. Subsidy rates vary depending on:
- type of transportation used
- location of the community
- category of eligible food and non-food items
Eligible communities and their subsidy rates
Eligible food and non-food items
By air
There are 3 subsidy levels for items shipped by air:
- high
- medium
- low
Items subsidized under each level are determined with input from Indigenous and community partners and include culturally appropriate and nutritious foods. More savings are provided to the most nutritious, perishable foods. In addition, savings are also applied to less perishable foods and essential non-food items.
Seasonal surface transportation
Eligible communities that use winter roads, sealifts or barges to ship food seasonally receive a subsidy rate determined by the location of the community.
For country and traditional foods
NNC subsidizes commercially-inspected country and traditional foods such as Arctic char, caribou, goose and muktuk when purchased from a local store or processing plant recognized by the program. There are currently 3 country food processors registered with NNC:
- Kivalliq Arctic Foods Ltd. (Rankin Inlet, NU)
- Pangnirtung Fisheries Ltd. (Pangnirtung, NU)
- Kitikmeot Food Ltd (Cambridge, NU)
Budget
For 2024 to 2025, NNC's subsidy has a budget of $144.8 million. This budget increases by roughly 5% each year in an attempt to keep pace with population growth, inflation, and the high costs of operating in isolated northern communities.
The 2025-2026 budget provides $20 million for the Harvesters Support Grant (HSG) and $20.2 million for the Community Food Programs Fund (CFPF). For the HSG, $8 million per year has been committed, on an ongoing basis.
$766,000 is also provided by the 2025-2026 budget for Nutrition North Canada's Food Security Research Grant to inform ongoing and locally driven food security solutions.
Compliance reviews
NNC is committed to ensuring that its operations are transparent.
Registered businesses and charitable organizations submit monthly claims. These claims outline how many kilograms of eligible items they shipped to eligible communities. For local producers, the claim reflects how much food was produced and distributed in the community. These claims are reviewed independently by an accredited third-party to ensure that the NNC subsidy was applied correctly. Once a claim is reviewed, NNC reimburses the registered business or charitable organization for the amount recommended by the third party.
Each year, a sample of registered businesses and charitable organizations are chosen to undergo a compliance review. This process helps determine whether they are complying with the terms and conditions of the funding agreement they signed with Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) and are transferring the subsidy to customers. The compliance reviews are also conducted by an independent and accredited third-party, not federal government employees. The reviews are posted online and available in the reports section.
The registered business and/or charitable organization is made aware during the review if any business practices or processes do not comply with their funding agreement. Once notified, they can develop a solution on their own, or the reviewer may recommend specific changes to correct the situation. CIRNAC provides recommendations to the registered businesses and/or charitable organizations by letter and they are required to respond with proof that they have implemented a solution. Beginning with the 2013-2014 reviews, these letters are also available online in the status section of each compliance review. If the registered business and/or charitable organization continues to be non-compliant, the funding agreement can be terminated. This is a last resort option, and CIRNAC will work with the registered business and/or charitable organization to fix issues where possible to allow Northerners as much choice as possible.