FAQ

It means “the place you get soup/broth”. 

Community Food Centres aim to address the underlying issues of food insecurity by advocating for income equality, providing community opportunities for collaborative learning, and providing education on health and nutrition. 

Qajuqturvik strives to strengthen health, belonging, and food sovereignty in Iqaluit by utilizing the power of food, tradition, and community. What does that look like? Many things! 

Our Daily Community Meal serves hot, nutritious meals during the week. Last year we served over 70,000 meals! Other programming includes a weekly Produce Box, Food Skills programming, Inuit Women’s Circle, Advocacy for food access, and the Qinnirvk Country Food and Bulk Store. 

Our vision is food sovereignty and security for Nunavummiut. Our vision is shaped by the Community Food Centre model pioneered by the national organization to which we belong, Community Food Centres Canada.

We’re on a mission to overcome the financial, educational, and systemic barriers of access to food in Nunavut.

• Currently we offer the following programs (more info on each program below): 

  • Daily Community Meal

  • Piruqutviniit Food Box (produce)

  • Inuit Women’s Circle

  • Country Food Access

Our programs change throughout the year so stay tuned to our social media for updates

Events take place throughout the year. The best way to stay up to date on events is to follow our social media.

655 Mattaq Cres, across from St. Jude’s Anglican Cathedral (Igloo church) 

Our current volunteer opportunities can be found at this link. 

Reach out to volunteer@qajuqturvik.ca to find out about our current volunteer opportunities. 

All volunteers are required to provide us with a Vulnerable Sector Criminal Record Check in accordance with our Safeguarding Policy.

Yes, please! As a non-profit, we rely on the support of those who want to see programming and advocacy around food security and sovereignty. Donations go towards our general operations.

We ask that donations be made monetarily -- via the website, cash, check, or Electronic Money Transfers. Because we produce food in such quantities (hundreds of meals a day!), food donations generally pose more challenges than solutions.

Yes. All donations above $20 are eligible for a charitable receipt. We issue a tax receipt to your email once your donation has been processed. If you sent a cheque, we will issue you a tax receipt by mail.

Cash donations are most useful, which you can do on our Donate.

If you would like to donate another way, you can EMT to donate@qajuqturvik.ca, send a cheque to 655 Mattaaq Crescent, Iqaluit NU, X0A 3H0

Food donations towards our daily community meal pose logistical challenges. We provide meals to hundreds of people a day. That means we cook food in bulk, on a large scale. Finidng ways to use small-scale donations is very challenging. That’s why donations via the website/cash/cheque/Electronic Money Transfers are by far the most useful to QCFC.

We do however have a small community pantry shelf in the food centre where unopened, unexpired foods in good condition can be left.  

Any other questions about donations can be sent to info@qajuqturvik.ca.

This takes place over the lunch hour Monday to Friday. Hot, fresh meals are served free of charge, for both dine-in and take out.

In order to ensure equality and dignity among our clients, we ask that those who dine in do not also take take-out. However, if clients want seconds of any meals, including take-out, they can wait until 12:45pm and if there is still food available, then they can get seconds.

Nothing, it’s free!

Monday to Friday every week, 11:30-1:00.  There is no meal service on statutory holidays.

Anyone!

QCFC Presents! is a fundraising program that gives local talented chefs and homecooks the opportunity to share their passion and love for food with the community. 

It takes place the last Saturday of most months 

The guest chef, which changes each month, designs the menu, recruits volunteers for preparation, service, and clean-up

The guest chef designs and executes the menu with some mystery and intrigue: it’s a culinary adventure!

Yes, this event is ticketed. Tickets must be ordered through info@qajuqturvik.ca ahead of time

• Tickets are pay what you can. In the past, tickets have sold for $60/person, however some paid more and others paid less

• Cash payments are discouraged; we prefer payment via EMT at info@qajuqturvik.ca

• Tickets generally become available the week before the event

• Stay tuned to our social media channels for the next installment!

It means “edible things that grow from the earth”

Each food box comes with 18-20 types of fruits and vegetables — enough to feed 3-4 people for a week. Boxes are pick-up only every Thursday between 11:30 and 5:30 at building 655. 

It’s a variety box, meaning every week it’s going to look a bit different. We structure it this way so we can get the best prices for items while also providing you with an opportunity to explore new recipes.

Even though it’s a variety box, we  guarantee that each box will contain 18-20 different types of fruits and vegetables. The box is generally enough produce to last a family of 4 for a week.

Full price $100, however this is available to everyone on a pay-what-you-can basis, with a minimum cost of $25. 

No, the opposite! When you buy a Piruqtuviniit food box at full price, you help provide a box for someone in your community who needs it.

Food insecurity is more than just hunger. It’s a range of insecurity that includes anything from skipping multiple meals to worrying about how to afford to purchase the quality of food you want to feed your family. The PWYC model meets people where they’re at and offers flexibility if someone’s income level changes.

Email order@qajuqturvik.ca with your order, and then send that same email address an Electronic Money Transfer

• You can pay in-person with credit or debit card, however all orders must be prepaid

• Payments are due no later than the Monday for that week’s box

Anyone!

This weekly program brings Inuit women together for crafting, cooking, and other activities. During the summer months, this program is held outside, where participants gather heather for a fire to make tea and food, and learn crafting skills under expert instructors. During the rest of the year, the program moves inside. Either way, the program always starts with a hot meal and involves crafting skills like sewing parks and making sealskin mitts.

If you have questions or want to sign up, email mary@qajuqturvik.ca or call the food centre 979-4863

Nothing, it’s free!

We ask that this space be reserved for those who identify as Inuit and female.  

The store is located at 655 Mattaaq Crescent -- the same address as the Food Centre. The entrance for the store is on the side nearest the Anglican Igloo church.

The store is open Monday to Friday, 11am to 6pm.

• Phone: 979-1369

• Email: qinnirvik@qajuqturvik.ca

• Or come on in to 655 Mataaq Crescent, side entrance by the Igloo church

Call the store during business hours at 979-1369 to find out or come in to 655 Mattaaq Crescent.

Qinnirvik only accepts debit and credit cards. NO cash.

No -- we do not ship Country Food anywhere.

• Yes, but only sometimes and only in Iqaluit. For other communities across Nunavut, we partner with Project Nunavut who has set up a network of hunters to procure various country food across the 3 regions. You can set up an account with Project Nunavut (under their Hunter’s Harvest program) as a hunter and get more information at this website: https://projectnunavut.com

• For Iqaluit harvesters:

  • come into Qinnirvik, email qinnirvik@qajuqturvik.ca or call Qinnirvik (979-1369) and provide your name, phone number, and what you are selling

  • our staff will check our freezers to determine whether we need what you’re selling 

  • we will let you know if we want to buy your Country Food 

  • Some other details: 

    • we buy char by weight, not by unit

    • If we buy it, we will need an invoice, which usually gets paid the following Friday by direct deposit

    • We do NOT pay cash or cheques

    • Country Food has to meet our quality and health and safety standards

• The store manager will sometimes put limits on items, based on supply and demand. Usually, limits will only be applied to the most popular products, such as caribou or clams. This is to ensure that as many people in the community as possible can share in the Country Food. 

• This also means that Qinnirvik does not sell Country Food for commercial or organizational purposes

Qinnirvik is Inuktitut for “a place of cache.” The name reflects our values and philosophy. It’s a place for the entire community to access Country Food. We believe that Country Food is crucial to Inuit identity, culture, and values. It’s about connecting with people and the environment, learning from each other, and spending time together – things we all value.

• In February 2025. Here’s a timeline of QCFC’s journey towards opening Qinnirvik: 

  • April 2023: we submitted an application to Citi Foundation’s Global Innovation Challenge, an initiative providing philanthropic grant support to community organisations addressing social and economic issues around the world. Each of the 50 community organizations selected is set to receive $500,000 USD. 

  • Sept 2023: Citi Foundation announces Qajuqturvik as a Global Innovation Challenge recipient! 

  • Oct 2023: Qajuqturvik starts building inventory of equipment and liaising with partners and hunters across Nunavut to source Country Food. 

  • February 2024: CanNor announces it too will support Qajuqturvik’s Country Food and Bulk Store, provides $235,000 in funding over next two years

  • Feb/March 2024: Renovations at the Food Centre begin to create a space for the store. 

  • April 2024: Qajuqturvik procures and sets up the computer point of sale system required for the store. 

  • September 2024: We hire a store manager! Ainia Nooshoota is hired and, together with our Co-Executive Director Francine Doucet, takes the lead on bringing the store across the finish line. 

  • December 2024: The store opens for a one-day trial run. We sell over $1600 in just a few hours! (NOTE: we accept no cash transactions, no cash is kept on premise ever)

  • January 2025: Soft launch is announced on Facebook, a post with 35,000 views! 

  • February 2025: Grand Opening of Qinnirvik Country Food and Bulk Store, with Nunavut MP Lori Idlout, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. VP Paul Irngaut, and Iqaluit MLAs Janet Brewster and George Hickes on hand to help us celebrate

The Journey to Qinnirvik started with a desire to place hunters at the centre of a Nunavut-made, Inuit-led local food economy. It started with the conviction that Country Food is nutrient-dense but also fundamental to Inuit values, communities, and identity. It’s how we learn from one another, gather together, and share experiences.

Everyone knows Nunavut has the highest food insecurity in the country – over three-quarters of Nunavut Inuit live with food insecurity, nearly half with severe food insecurity. ITK has called this the longest-lasting public health emergency in Canadian history. Nunavut Inuit have the highest documented food insecurity of any Indigenous population in a developed nation.

The need that QCFC addresses is great: we serve over 60,000 daily meals a year to our community of under 8,000 people. But Qinnirvik goes beyond food insecurity and addresses food sovereignty and dignity. Procuring local traditional diet for Inuit, harvested from Inuit homelands. That is the power of food.

First and foremost, Project Nunavut – our partner connecting us with hunters. They are the ones who have built a network of hunters across the territory. This is the very first necessary step towards re-establishing a local, Nunavut-made, Inuit-led food economy. We cannot say enough about the important work and immense value that Project Nunavut brings to Qinnirvik and the whole territory. 

And then of course our funders! QCFC received substantial funding from Citi Foundation and CanNor. However it takes many community-minded funders to see a project like Qinnirvik come to light. We are indebted and grateful to the Government of Canada’s Community Services Recovery Fund, the Canadian Tilling Foundation, and the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Culture and Heritage. 

The staff and leaders at our funding organizations know the breadth and severity of food insecurity across the territory. They know the immense value of Country Food to Inuit. And they have been incredibly supportive of QCFC’s push for a Country Food store.