Catch of the day for families in need

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/12/2020 (1960 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Members of Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council spent most of Wednesday handing out free packages of filleted pike, pickerel and whitefish to Indigenous families in Westman, as part of a broader initiative that was started by Fisher River Cree Nation.

Volunteers set up Wednesday’s distribution site at Dakota Ojibway Child and Family Services offices in Brandon at 10 a.m and attempted to offload roughly 1,700 boxes of fish by 7 p.m.

In order to abide by COVID-19 safety regulations, all of the volunteers wore masks and attempted to keep their distance as they handed out these packages to the families who arrived in their vehicles.

Jason Gobeil, a warrior wellness co-ordinator for Dakota Ojibway Child and Family Services, told the Sun that the flow of traffic was steady throughout Wednesday morning, which highlights the fact that food insecurity is still a big concern this holiday season.

“We’re limiting our movements, we’re watching who goes grocery shopping … we’re also trying to stretch a dollar,” he said. “So if we can really ensure that food security is doing well in the household of our families, then we’re doing something really good as community members.”

Wednesday’s event in Brandon was part of a larger project that was originally organized by members of Fisher River Cree Nation, who have been working with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation to rescue fish that cannot be sent to international markets due to the ongoing pandemic.

Rather than letting all this food go to waste, Fisher River members decided to distribute this product to First Nations communities directly.

Back in August, this northern band received $11 million from the Surplus Food Rescue Program to rescue up to 2.9 million pounds of freshwater fish caught from inland lakes of Canada.

Working with Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation, the surplus product was distributed to more than 75 Indigenous communities throughout the Prairies.

Now, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is looking to get rid of the remaining inventory throughout the holiday season by setting up distribution sites in Brandon, Winnipeg, The Pas, Dauphin and Thompson this week for urban and off-reserve Indigenous families.

Economic development co-ordinator Maeengan Linklater told the Sun that the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council will also preside over at least one of the distribution sites in Winnipeg today, since the organization has seven nations and more than 20,000 people under its jurisdiction.

“We have 10 departments with over 200 to 300 employees,” he said. “So when it comes to pandemic response, it’s really a team effort in terms of mobilizing our resources in order to ensure the safety, the healthy well-being and, of course, the protection of our children and families,” he said.

Winnipeg’s distribution sites are open today from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 576 Roseberry St. and the Canad Inns Polo Park.

Dauphin’s distribution centre will be set up on Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Dauphin Friendship Centre.

» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @KyleDarbyson