Fisher River Cree Nation Receives Investment Through Surplus Food Rescue Program

Sep 04, 2020

On Thursday, the federal government highlighted an investment of up to $10.8 million through the Surplus Food Rescue Program to the Fisher River Cree Nation (FRCN).

The Fisher River Cree Nation of Northern Manitoba will rescue up to 1.4 million pounds of freshwater fish caught from inland lakes of Canada. Working with the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation, the surplus product will be distributed to more than 75 Indigenous communities throughout Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the North.

“Fish and seafood are a valuable source of protein for many Canadian families," said Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. "Through this initiative we are able to rescue a significant portion of this year’s harvest and ensure it gets onto the tables of those who need it most while improving food security in the North.”

The Surplus Food Rescue Program is a $50 million federal initiative designed to address urgent, high volume, highly perishable surplus products falling under horticulture, meat and fish and seafood. More than $15.5 million has been allocated for the fish and seafood industry.

These surpluses were created because the COVID-19 pandemic largely shutdown the restaurant and hospitality industry, leaving many producers without a key market for their food commodities. Ten per cent of the food purchased through the program have been designated for Northern populations.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.