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It’s been 10 years since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) issued 94 calls to action. These calls provide guidance to repair relationships andaddress historical and ongoing harms faced by Indigenous communities across Canada.
While they span many areas — from justice to child welfare to education — several have clear connections to food systems.
Truth comes before reconciliation. On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we honour and thank the Survivors who bravely shared their stories to make this work possible.
As we revisit the calls to action and reflect on how they connect to our own lives and work, we see how reconciliation and repair can lead to stronger, more equitable food systems for everyone.
TRC Calls to Action and Food Security
Calls to Action 1-5: Child Welfare
Across Canada, more than one in four children live in food insecure households. For Indigenous children, this statistic climbs to two in five. The calls to action on child welfare highlight the need for proper supports and equitable funding, so that children are not removed from their families because of poverty or lack of access to basic needs — including food.
Food and Reconciliation: Children deserve to be at home, nourished and connected to their culture. Calls 1–5 underscore the urgent need to address the failures of our food distribution system.
Calls to Action 6-12: Education
The TRC highlights inequities in Indigenous education, including persistent funding gaps. Canada has recognized the need to enhance and expand school food programs, with the promise of Indigenous consultation. Consultation alone isn’t enough — these programs will only succeed if they are shaped with communities, not designed for them.
Food and Reconciliation: When kids have access to healthy, culturally appropriate food at school, they can learn, thrive and stay grounded in their heritage. The National School Food Program holds great potential to become a vital support, but gaps in funding for Indigenous communities persist.
Call to Action 19: Health
Climate change, industrial activities and colonial policies have disrupted traditional food systems by altering wildlife patterns, damaging ecosystems and restricting access to land and waterways. These disruptions have replaced traditional diets with less healthy alternatives, contributing to high rates of diet-related illness in Indigenous communities.
Food and Reconciliation: Health equity requires food equity. We cannot close health gaps without protecting access to nutritious, culturally relevant food.
Call to Action 20: Health (Métis, Inuit and Off-Reserve Peoples)
Every Indigenous community has its own food traditions and knowledge systems. From Inuit country food to Métis gardens to urban Indigenous food sovereignty projects, communities know best what sustains them.
Food and Reconciliation: Health and food security must be community-led and rooted in self-determination.
Call to Action 24: Education for Health Professionals
Doctors, nurses, dietitians and other health professionals need to understand the history of colonization and the specific health and food-related challenges that Indigenous Peoples face today.
Food and Reconciliation: When health professionals value Indigenous food knowledge, they can provide better, more respectful care.
Walking Forward Together
Reconciliation is inseparable from creating more equitable, just food systems.
Partnerships like Wiicheiway’magon show what’s possible when Indigenous leadership, knowledge, values and decision-making are at the centre, with organizations like Second Harvest in a supportive role.
Food is health. It is also connection, memory and culture. It ties people to the land, to ceremony and to each other, while carrying traditions, stories and knowledge across generations.
By looking to the TRC calls to action as a guide, we can all work toward food systems that honour culture, protect dignity and ensure every household in Canada has access to the nourishing food they need.
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