A message from Richard Jock, FNHA Chief Executive Officer; and Dr. Nel Wieman, FNHA Chief Medical Officer
March is
National Nutrition Month, and the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) is holding our annual “Food is Medicine” Wellness Challenge. We invite First Nations people across BC to share stories all month long about the different foods they grow, hunt, harvest and eat in their community.
The idea behind the Food is Medicine Wellness Challenge is to celebrate the unique relationship that we, as First Nations people, have with food. This innovative challenge is about more than “
eating healthy.” It’s also about exploring our connection to food and the ways we harvest, gather, cook, eat and share food, while honouring our relationships with people, lands, waters, plants, and animals.
Throughout the month, the FNHA’s Wellness Team will highlight various First Nations knowledge, teachings and wisdom around food. There is incredible work happening in communities and regions around traditional foods, food security, nutrition and medicine honoured throughout the seasons.
The FNHA wants to hear about your traditional food practices and see your photos, e.g.: smoking fish, drying meat, picking berries, canning, whatever it is you do! Send your stories or photos to the FNHA’s Wellness Team at
Wellness@fnha.ca, or tag @FNHA or #foodismedicinefnha.
We encourage you and your families to try new foods, create new recipes, and enjoy spending time with loved ones to nourish your wholistic wellbeing.
Here are some ideas for this month’s Food is Medicine Wellness Challenge:
- Try one of the delicious recipes from the FNHA’s and Indigenous Sport Activity and Recreation Council’s (I-SPARC’s) Food is Medicine Cookbook. Post your creation on social media and tag us @FNHA, or share it here.
- Sit with an Elder or knowledgeable community member and learn more about the traditional foods and medicines in your territory, and how to harvest them in a good way.
- Eat more fruit, vegetables and wild berries. Frozen fruits and vegetables are just as healthy as fresh foods, and are often cost-effective and accessible.
- Take part in harvesting activities on the land such as fishing, hunting, trapping and canning. Check out FNHA’s Traditional Food Fact Sheet and the Canning Guide for wise practices and helpful tips!
- Read (and listen to!) FNHA’s newest publication that explores how traditional foods, medicines, nutrition and food security are all common themes to First Nations communities across all five regions of British Columbia. The Common Language Project Report 2023, is grounded in a wholistic approach to health and wellness and delves into how food is relational to First Nations people.
Wishing everyone a mindful March full of nutritious food and good medicine!
In wellness,
Richard Jock and Dr. Nel Wieman
