The Kugluktuk Hunters and Trappers Organization (HTO) has once again started purchasing wild meat from local harvesters.
Photo courtesy of NWT Arctic Tourism
Twenty-five muskoxen tags are devoted to the country-food program, which is funded by the Department of Economic Development. Seal, ptarmigan and various species of fish are also among the wild meat that will be bought and then distributed to residents who have limited or no access to country foods.
It usually takes only a few months to expend the $30,000 available to buy the meat from hunters, said Amanda Dumond, manager of the HTO.
“I’ve got some people with fish and ptarmigan in their freezers waiting for me so that’s a good sign,” Dumond said of local harvesters who’ve already set aside some game.
The last round of country food available through the HTO was all spoken for during the spring, according to Dumond.
“It goes pretty quick once we start,” she said. “It’s such an amazing program, it really is.”