Grant supports food security and mental well-being in Miawpukek First Nation
Professor Eric Liberda has received a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to support food security and mental well-being programs.
A project aiming to enhance food security and mental well-being programs that address pandemic-related stressors in Miawpukek First Nation has received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
Professor Eric Liberda of the School of Occupational and Public Health will collaborate with co-investigators, including Health Director of Miawpukek First Nation Ada John, for this Indigenous-led project that will build on previous food security work, evaluating and expanding emergency food security and mental well-being programs. This project, titled Tajigoltieg - We are Healthy: Enhancing Food Security and Mental Wellbeing Programs to Manage COVID-19 Pandemic Stressors in a Remote Mi'kmaq Community, is funded through the CIHR’s Indigenous Peoples and COVID-19 Rapid Research Operating and Knowledge Mobilization Grants program.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on the issues associated in First Nation communities with food systems that rely heavily on importation. We have been working with the Conne River Health and Social Services of the remote Indigenous community of Miawpukek First Nation in Newfoundland and Labrador to address this problem. By building up physical capacity for food assets, we will further develop places where people can grow, prepare, share, purchase, receive and learn about food while harnessing Indigenous and western knowledge to mitigate long-standing food inequalities and co-develop novel Indigenous-based programs for mental well-being,” said professor Liberda.
“I’m pleased to congratulate professor Liberda and his collaborators on this success,” said Steven N. Liss, Ryerson’s vice-president, research and innovation. “This innovative and ongoing research is responding to the impacts of the pandemic and the gaps and challenges faced by Indigenous communities with real-world solutions that are advancing well-being and food sovereignty.”
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