“It’s unbelievable to me that with the rich resources of this country, we still have children going hungry.”
In partnership with Employment and Social Development Canada, each month, Startup Canada is celebrating and putting the spotlight on a leading Canadian social innovator driving change in one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Startup Canada was pleased to sit down with Rhoda Angutimarik, Co-founder & CEO of Arctic Fresh Inc to learn about their impact on SDG 2—Zero Hunger.
Rhoda was born and raised in Nunavut and started Arctic Fresh out of necessity. Shipping fresh food to the Arctic is costly, so for many people, it becomes prohibitively expensive. Having spent her whole life living in Nunavut, she’s known many children who do not receive adequate meals and nutrition at home. With her foundational understanding of her territory and target demographic, Rhoda uses innovative technologies and logistics processes to deliver fresh food at much more affordable rates in communities across Nunavut. In 2019, Arctic Fresh was named Social Enterprise of the Year for Nunavut by Startup Canada. The company went on to win the national award later that year and has been growing steadily for the last three years.
Rhoda is also a teacher at Ataguttaluk Elementary School and is passionate about educating Nunavummiut on healthy eating.
SC: What does Arctic Fresh do?
RA: As an Inuit-owned, Nunavut-based social enterprise—our mandate is to fight food insecurity and create local capacity to empower individuals and communities to become self-sufficient. As CEO of Arctic Fresh Inc, I establish strategic direction and guide the company to achieve its mandate.
SC: How does your work advance SDG 2—Zero Hunger?
RA: Arctic Fresh provides an alternative to the current high-cost brick and mortar grocers in Nunavut. We do this by maintaining lower overhead costs, accepting lower profit margins, and creating partnerships with suppliers and transportation providers. This ensures that we’re able to offer lower cost, high-quality, nutritious foods that better fit the northern consumers’ budget. We also donate food to families in Igloolik through the Food Bank and work to educate families on budgeting and recipes.
SC: What motivated you to build Arctic Fresh?
RA: I’m motivated by my first-hand knowledge of growing up hungry in my community, and my observations as a classroom teacher now—where I often see children coming to school hungry. It’s unbelievable to me that with the rich resources of this country, we still have children going hungry. Canadians are not well-informed about the challenges Northern communities face in relation to the cost of basic food and shelter. Prices are significantly higher in Nunavut compared to the rest of Canada.
SC: Please share with us the impact you have made and what you are most proud of.
RA: We’ve helped families bring food to their table by offering lower-cost, nutritious food. We’ve permitted families to use those savings to assist in paying for utilities and shelter. I’m proud to be able to offer families more for less so they can meet their basic needs for food and shelter.
SC: What inspires you to keep going?
RA: I’m inspired by seeing the happiness and contentment of children when they don’t have to worry about when or if they might eat again. I’ve chosen to be a role model for others by not accepting the status quo. I want our children to know that they have the ability to change anything if they persevere and that by working together—they can achieve almost anything.
SC: What is the next mountain you are climbing and what is left undone?
RA: Currently Arctic Fresh only operates with the Baffin region. We want to grow and expand Arctic Fresh to a Nunavut-wide enterprise to further advance our mandate to fight food insecurity. All northern communities deserve to choose where they buy their food, and how much they can afford to pay.
We are all Canadians, and people from Nunavut should be afforded the same opportunity as people in other parts of the country. We need lower-cost food options so we can ensure our sustainability.
SC: What has been your biggest learning along the way?
RA: I’ve learned to never give up. Even if you’re in a bad situation, you must keep going and not lose sight of your goal!
SC: How has being impact-driven helped you to persevere and thrive?
RA: We’ve encountered many obstacles over the last 3 years. We often felt like we were taking one step forward and two steps back. But by never losing sight of our goal, we persevered and were able to overcome these obstacles. Sometimes it took longer than we had hoped—but we made it through and have continued to succeed.
SC: What advice do you have for Canadian entrepreneurs looking to advance the Sustainable Development Goals with their businesses?
RA: To advance sustainable development, you need to fully understand the problem you wish to solve and what will influence your success. You need to focus and start small. If you choose to work alone you’ll likely make some progress—but when you choose to work together to build partnerships and networks, you’ll likely go much further.
SC: Where can people go to learn more about your journey and organization?
RA: You can go to our website to learn more about us. We also have printed material that we give out at trade shows.
SC: What is your big vision for Canada over the next 20 years?
RA: My big vision for Canada is to work towards the elimination of food insecurity for every Canadian. We’ve started small by servicing the Baffin region of Nunavut, but our goal is to expand the Arctic Fresh online grocery to all Nunavummiut, and all remote communities in Canada.
We also hope to build small self-sustaining grocery stores across many Nunavut communities, harvesting local products to provide more immediate, local access to nutritious food at even lower-cost. Wouldn’t that be cool?
SC: Definitely! What do you think today’s entrepreneurs should be focused on for a better, brighter future?
RA: Today’s entrepreneurs need to understand that they’ll go further if they can align themselves with other people to achieve the same goals. Forming partnerships, alliances, and teams of people will help them achieve more, in less time. They need to identify what they’re good at and form partnerships with people who have complementary expertise and resources to assist them in achieving their goals.
Always think positively, don’t let delays overwhelm you, and help others by staying positive and encouraging them to follow their dreams.
Hungry for change? Join the Startup Canada Social Impact Network to gain access to social enterprise programming online and on-the-ground.