Saskatchewan Anchor Team Impact Report

Setting the Stage at a Provincial Level: Saskatchewan Health Authority Promotes Food Security and Food Sovereignty in Partnership with Communities

In Saskatchewan, community food security and food sovereignty are concerns across the province, from urban settings to Northern and remote areas among First Nations and Métis communities. This team brought together three influential voices: Saskatchewan Health Authority, CHEP Good Food, and the University of Saskatchewan. The three partners worked with a broader network of stakeholders to collectively understand the historical roots of food insecurity and food sovereignty, and co-design a trajectory to a more sustainable future, one which recognizes that “food is medicine – the medicine essential to nourish and heal our people, communities and planet.”

Their team attests that “the large scale food procurement needs of the health authority have the potential to overwhelm local sustainable practices (hunting, growing, harvesting) if not done in a scaled, responsible fashion. We must be mindful that our designs for the future consider both ecological and human needs, and be aware of our power in shaping the economic and sustainability processes in our province.”

To this end, the work was supported by Andrew Will, CEO of the Saskatchewan Health Authority, and is set to support innovation on a provincial scale, leveraging the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s $4 billion annual budget and infrastructure across numerous communities.

Reach:
Since this team involved the provincial health authority, its impacts cover the entire province of Saskatchewan, including 76 hospitals and a population of ~1.17 million residents. Moreover, Saskatchewan Health Authority is the biggest employer in the province, with the potential to reach many clinicians and health care professionals.

The Saskatchewan Team Worked On:
1) Piloting a food prescription project

2) Engaging with local producers to put together a regional production map, showing what is grown, sourced, and processed in each area of the province

3) Advancing culturally appropriate foods in health care menus, especially for Indigenous patients

4) Building an awareness program and tools around traditional foods as medicine

Read the Final Saskatchewan Anchor Team Impact Report here.