Welcome to the MKO Harvester Program

The HSG promotes self-determination by supporting community priorities. Since the launch of the program communities have been able to actively involve and support all community members through training, sharing, traditional foods and community harvests.

The Program also ensures that vulnerable groups have access to traditional food and supports the restoration of traditional knowledge and practices.

The HSG funding is creating a pathway for future generations to have access to their traditional knowledge and teaching.

Food solutions is part of the program, creating access to a food bank network to address food insecurity in these communities. We are partnered with a group that are helping to create food solutions to fulfill the high level of need in Northern Manitoba.

The team is growing and we are planning community visits for each First Nation involved with the program.  Monthly meetings with Harvesters are taking place to ensure that supports to the harvesters are being met and heard.  We are continuously networking and seeking additional opportunities for our communities as we move forward making our best efforts to ensure no one goes without the basic essentials they need.

We find visiting each of the community’s very beneficial as we get to work directly with the community coordinators, and harvesters. Here we were able to give as much information as possible and keep the leadership informed on how the support program works. This allows the community members to work together with the goal to ensure traditional knowledge is passed on and also creates a sense of community wellness and togetherness.

Our goal is to provide the necessary information so that each First Nation that belongs to the program can maximize the potential the program can provide to their communities. Education, health, economic development, Elder’s and youth connections, community wellness, the effect and change that can lead to traditional ways of learning and healing.

Working with our partners we have made food shipments from food banks to several remote communities and have gained much knowledge as we’ve gone through the initial phases of the process.

We have gained valuable information from our partners on recovered and rescued food, and in turn, have shared many of the things we learned from working with the communities that we were able to pass on to our partners. Together we are ready to provide the communities with the necessary information to make the most of the Harvester Program.

Climate change is affecting the north in a dramatic way, and rapidly. The danger’s our peoples will be facing is something we need to be ready for, so we can protect our people’s well-being and way of life.

Our partners have offered a unique opportunity in monitoring the health of animal species and how the land’s health will be affected by climate change.  Country food safety in Indigenous communities Lab-on-a-Chip device(s) are currently being developed by Nathalie Corneau, Bureau of Microbial Hazards and her team at Health Canada. You can find more information on her work here.

An excellent document has been prepared by the First Nations Health Authority and the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health entitled, Indigenous Food Safety and Security: Community Adaptations in the Wake of Climate Pressures.

We have focused our efforts on establishing a distribution centre in the north. We are working on obtaining a space that will be a hub for food bank distribution out of Thompson, with the vision being to reach our First Nation communities with food deliveries more efficiently. The space will also be used as a training and program support centre.

Part of the food security strategy is to reach out to current food programs operating to support traditional Indigenous foods, country foods and wild game in schools and health care facilities.

Here is a link to a document worth reading that was prepared by Health Canada entitled, Food Safety for First Nations People of Canada: A Manual for Healthy Practices.

During the wildfire evacuation, our program was able to provide necessary emergency food shipments according to the needs of the evacuees.

Our program has began working with political teams as the efforts being taken directly affects the Harvester program. MKO has met with several ministers on our people’s rights and have gained support and recognition along the way.

The harvester team will be assisting and guiding the participating communities to create a three-year strategic plan. Understanding the unique diversity of each individual First Nation, we will provide a toolkit to complete the process and capture everyone’s unique stories.

The funders secured an additional 3-year agreement that will start to be released in October 2024.

We will also continue to keep working on food security and focus our energy on the distribution centre in Thompson, Manitoba.

Coming Soon

Coming Soon

Program Manager
1-431-323-1242
[email protected]

Project Coordinator
1-204-670-3267
[email protected]

Project Coordinator
1-431-294-6853
[email protected]

Administrative Support
1-431-323-7409
[email protected]