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An adequate food system involves food that provide appropriate nutritional value and quality, not relying on processed foods and meeting the cultural needs within the community.  Our stay in the Yukon allowed us to see how resilient the people are and how they face the barriers to their food system. Much of the food that is in the grocery stores are what we find in Ontario, a mix of processed and fresh produce. However, in cities like Dawson City which are from the food’s origin, there seems to be a lack of incentive to buy fresh produce based on the quality of it by the time it reaches the grocery stores. While staying in Dawson City I was able to see first-hand the state of the fresh produce in a local grocery store. The peaches were wrinkly and old, some of the oranges were mouldy, and the avocados were perfectly ripe, which means they would be going bad within the next day or so. The quality reflects the nutritional value and with poor quality foods, people are not going to be able to get the nutrition they need for an adequate diet. The lack of quality foods also leads people to start depending more on processed foods. These can be full of sodium, sugars and other unwanted chemicals that are not a part of a healthy diet. The increase of these types of foods in people’s diets leads to an increase in imported foods. As foods are imported from far away they lose nutritional value along the journey to the stores. These types of foods are not usually consumed in a First Nations diet which leads them to start to stray from their culture. The abattoir we visited in Whitehorse showed us their facilities and told us how traditional meats were not as common as pork or beef. The traditional foods that First Nations communities eat are slowly becoming more uncommon. We lose a part of a culture through the loss of foods as many traditions are attached to them and without an adequate diet, people become more dependent on low nutrient value foods. Included is a picture of the produce in a local grocery store in Dawson City where we can see the inadequate quality of the fresh produce through this mouldy orange.

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GIDSYukonFieldSchool on Instagram: "Eating locally for lunch this afternoon at Alchemy Cafe! The broccoli and carrots were provided by Kokopellie Farm located in Dawson City. Supporting local farmers is sustainable not only for the environment but the local economy as well. Keeping money in the community and not relying so heavily on imported foods will allow farmers to keep producing local and nutritious food! #eatlocal #yukongryphs"

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22 likes, 0 comments - gidsyukon on May 21, 2019: "Eating locally for lunch this afternoon at Alchemy Cafe! The broccoli and carrots were provided by Kokopellie Farm located in Dawson City. Supporting local farmers is sustainable not only for the environment but the local economy as well. Keeping money in the community and not relying so heavily on imported foods will allow farmers to keep producing local and nutritious food! #eatlocal #yukongryphs". 

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One of the main points that I have gathered through all of the people who have shared their knowledge with us, is to make a food system that is more environmentally and economically sustainable. The innovations that we have heard of are quite impressive, such as aquaponics, crop box, and the experimentation with crops to make local foods an option for everyone. Both aquaponics and the crop box bring food to areas that lack the land or other resources to produce local foods in a more sustainable way. An apple farm in Dawson City was able to produce apple and pear trees that can withstand the harsh climates in Yukon. All of these innovations go back to the concept of closing the food system. Keeping money in the community and relying more on the local farmers to provide food is how we achieve this. With the unique barriers that come with living in the Yukon, having a food system that is sustainable will result in food sovereignty which I believe is the main goal of the people in Yukon. We have seen through Suzanne Crocker that eating completely locally is possible, but a little help was needed. She shared her journey with us and told us how she relied on her community and their knowledge on the land to help her achieve her goal of eating locally in Dawson City for a year.  She also mentioned that she was lacking in a few nutrients to make her diet complete and this called for the help from imported foods. Even though there is some reliance from imports, the majority of her diet came from Dawson City and the more the community can stray away from imports, the more sustainable they can make their food system. One last thought that I plan to carry with me is to tread lightly on the land. Both our forage walks with Suzanne Crocker and Michelle Genest, showed us how to use the land, but also to make sure we keep it intact for future generations as they strive for a more sustainable food system.
These spruce tips were sustainably foraged and used to make a spruce tip syrup!

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The challenges of the Yukon food system are becoming more apparent as we gain insight on the perspectives of community members with multiple backgrounds. One of these challenges is the ability for residents to access local and quality foods. There is a main grocery store in the middle of downtown Whitehorse where much of the population gets their food from. While talking to Mark Wykes, the manager of the independence grocery store, he noted that the trend among first nations is a large amount of processed food being bought. This can be attributed to the fact that it is cheaper than fresh produce and with the living expenses so high it is understandable why this would be a trend. However, listening to Bart Bounds, a local organic farmer, we came to understand that he has an abundance of fresh local produce for the people of Whitehorse. The barrier is that it takes a lot of time and effort to grow nutritious food and the prices reflect this which not many people are able to afford. The food is there, but accessing it with the limited resources in Whitehorse make them unaccessible to a majority of the population. A main theme that was talked about throughout the guest lectures was the road closure that barred food trucks from entering into the city. This made locals realize that they need to start relying less on imports and more on the local food system in Whitehorse.
Through other perspectives from Kristina Craig, from the Yukon Anti-poverty Coalition, we learned that the minimum wage is $11.51 while the cost of living is over $18. To make food more accessible we need to close this gap through initiatives such as, an increase in minimum wage, decrease in rent and possibly introducing a subsidized transportation for those with low income. The picture is of Bart Bounds farm (Elemental Farm) showcasing the variety of fresh, local, organic greens that are available through the local farmers market in Whitehorse.

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GIDSYukonFieldSchool on Instagram: "Labrador tea found in Tombstone Territorial Park! This native plant can be steeped into a tea that has tons of vitamin c and is used for its calming effects to help you get a good nights sleep 😴 -Mary
#yukongryphs #tombstoneterritorialpark #countryfood"

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25 likes, 1 comments - gidsyukon on May 20, 2019: "Labrador tea found in Tombstone Territorial Park! This native plant can be steeped into a tea that has tons of vitamin c and is used for its calming effects to help you get a good nights sleep 😴 -Mary
#yukongryphs #tombstoneterritorialpark #countryfood". 