Food Security Research Grant
Indigenous-led research supporting food security in isolated northern communities.
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About the grant
Nutrition North Canada's Food Security Research Grant is funding Indigenous-led projects that focus on food security and food access inequality in isolated northern communities.
This research addresses key questions and challenges with respect to food access inequality, the dynamics of existing federal food access programs and food insecurity among Indigenous Peoples living in isolated communities.
Indigenous partnership, ownership of information, knowledge transfer, capacity building, and the guiding insights from traditional knowledge systems are an integral part of the design of the research grant. All research funded under the grant must either be directed by Indigenous stakeholders or conducted with clear partnerships between academics and Indigenous communities.
Phase 1 of the grant awarded funding to 5 successful applicants on April 1, 2023 and invested $1.5 million to generate additional insight and knowledge on the effects of the Nutrition North Canada (NNC) retail subsidy and inform ongoing improvements to support equitable access to store-bought food. Phase 2 of the grant will run from 2025-2028 and is investing $2.3 million to support research to help guide policy interventions that seek to reduce food insecurity.
Phase 2
Phase 2 will support research in the following research areas:
- alternative food subsidy program models to support equitable market (store-bought) food access, nutrition, food security, and food sovereignty in isolated northern communities
- impact of supply chain logistics and ownership on food quality, availability, and price
- harvesting, informal economies, and pathway to improving access to traditional and market food
Proposals submitted under phase 2 of the grant must demonstrate how the research, situated within an Indigenous or Northern context, will:
- demonstrate the impact of NNC programming in eligible communities and what other alternative food sources are leveraged
- demonstrate the impact of supply chain logistics and ownership on food quality, availability, and price
- demonstrate the impact of harvesting, informal economies, and pathways to improving access to traditional and market food
- provide an assessment of the existing subsidy, contrasted with alternate models of enhancing food security in isolated communities, and make recommendations
Eligibility
Eligible applicants for the grant must meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Indigenous governing body which represents one or more NNC-eligible communities and which can demonstrate an established partnership with an accredited, Canadian post-secondary institution
- Indigenous organization residing in NNC-eligible communities and which can demonstrate an established partnership with an accredited, Canadian post-secondary institution
- independent researcher or knowledge user who self-identifies as Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit or Métis) and can clearly demonstrate a partnership with one or more Indigenous organizations or NNC-eligible communities
- researcher affiliated with an accredited Canadian post-secondary institution that can clearly demonstrate past research experience and a meaningful and culturally safe partnership with one or more Indigenous organizations and NNC-eligible communities
Find out more about NNC eligible communities.
Funding and support
CIRNAC is investing a total of $2.3 million to support projects until March 31, 2028. The grant will support up to 100% of a recipient's total project costs and can provide a maximum of $275,000 per project. Stacking of funding (such as total government support for a project) cannot exceed 100% of project costs. CIRNAC will strive for an equitable allocation of funding that takes into account the diversity of Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) and geography of the communities served by NNC.
Key dates
- September 22, 2025: Deadline to submit letter of intent
- October 1, 2025: Letter of intent notifications and invitation to proceed with full proposal for successful applicants
- December 19, 2025: Deadline to submit full proposal
- January 30, 2026: Notification of final results
- Funding will be released by March 31, 2026.
How to apply
If you are interested in receiving more information and learning about next steps on how to apply for Nutrition North Canada's Food Security Research Grant, please contact the program at nutritionnordcanada-nutritionnorthcanada@rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca by September 22, 2025.