Launched April 1, 2011, Nutrition North Canada (NNC) is a Government of Canada subsidy program to help make perishable, nutritious food more affordable and more accessible for isolated Northern communities.¹

NNC subsidizes a variety of perishable and nutritious food items (fruit, vegetables, milk, eggs, meat and cheese) shipped by air to an eligible community, as well as “country” or traditional food commercially-processed in the North, such as Arctic char, musk-ox and caribou (important sources of nutrients) shipped by air to an eligible community.¹

Customers living in eligible communities can also order food directly from registered southern suppliers.¹

To be part of the program, retailers and suppliers must apply, and be selected, to be added to the registered supplier list. These businesses are then responsible for passing on the full subsidy to consumers. Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) closely monitors compliance with the list of suppliers on their website.¹

Nutrition North community eligibility requirements (as of October 2016):¹

• Lack year-round surface transportation (no permanent road, rail or marine access), excluding isolation caused by freeze-up and break-up that normally lasts less than four weeks at a time
• Meet the territorial or provincial definition of a northern community
• Have an airport, post office, or grocery store
• Have a year-round population according to the national census
• For a list of NNC eligible communities and subsidy rate, please click here.

  ¹Nutrition North Canada website, accessed June 18, 2018.